Mind Games
by Xenon7025
Summary: "A weapon that takes control of people's visual and depth perception to feed false information to the brain, creating a new reality for them. Like a dream so real, if you bump yourself in it, your sleeping self will bruise? It's hard to believe. " [On a hiatus or this has been discontinued, maybe I'll reboot this, I guess?]
1. I-Thunderstorm

**Okay! So, this is my first time writing a story...to be honest, I'm not really good at expressing story by writing, only by drawing...comics X3**

 **And this is 2 of my upcoming stories, so this story is just short...I think. Okay, I think you're wondering why**

 **I didn't post my first story, it's because my first story is longer (Each character arc has multiple endings, kinda like a game ya know?)**

 **And this is my first time to write a story in a first person view so, kill meh with your correction grammars and shiz XD**

 **.o.**

(And no, I'm not joking, this IS the title of the chapter.)

I was at my granddad's house, all alone resting in the couch while the others are...let's see, Solar, Thorn and Ice are having their investigatory project. Huh, since when Thorn and Ice are interested in those things? I shake my head lightly; I guess I'll worry that one later. Okay, let's see...oh right, Blaze, Quake, and Cyclone are in the cafe working with my granddad. Oh, and also Ochobot too.

Minutes? No, wait. Hours passed? Ugh, I can't tell the time right. Damn it, why am I so lazy all of the sudden? No, I don't think I'm lazy, I'm just tired, tired of staring at the ceiling. I sighed and stood up, stretching my arms. Maybe meeting up with Solar would be nice since I'm bored here. I walked outside and close the door. I breathe in and out, and then I dash off as I leave a lightning trail behind me. **(The original text was supposed to be 'I dash off at the speed of sound' but I just realized that sound and lightning are different in traveling...I meant their MPHs are different.)**

Within seconds, I arrived outside the library, a two-story building. Chatters of people are heard since the library is right beside the park. I went inside -since this is the first time I went into the library- I was filled with amazement. Oh how I love the peach colored walls and the books of the every shelf are properly arranged. The atmosphere seems…refreshing. Now, where's Solar? I walked in every table to find him; I recognize that some people are scrolling with their cell phones than reading a book. I rolled my eyes and focus on something that I was looking for.

"Thunderstorm!" A child-like voice was heard from the distance.

"Would you keep it down? We're in the library." A boy, getting a book from a shelf, quietly said.

Then the next thing that happens was a hug, a hug from Thorn. Well, he's wearing the same black with neon green linings…as usual. "What brings you here, Thunder?" Thunder? I chuckled under my breath. That's a new one, I kinda like it. "I was wondering what you guys are working on."

"Oh, wait, excuse me for a moment." He let go from the hug and walks to the boy who said to him to stay quiet. He must be apologizing as he bowed his head. He may be a naïve and a scatterbrained person but he sure knows how to respect. He looked and walked towards me

"Well, are you looking for Solar?" he said, now in a quiet voice.

I nodded, eyes locked on the pure, emerald eyes. "C'mon, follow me." he said and grabbed my arm lightly, walking to where they sat down.

...Huh, this takes longer than I thought. Is the building THAT wide? Or are we just lost in this...maze? I sighed and stopped walking. "Thorn, are you sure this is the right way? I know I shouldn't be complaining since I'm not present in your...project, I'm just saying." I said in a calmed voice.

Thorn stopped and looked at me and giggled "We're almost there Thunder. You know, you kinda act like Blaze today."

"I'm just saying, sheesh." I looked at my left and cross my arms.

He giggled a bit "Okay, okay, Mr. Edgy-guy." He grabbed my arm and walks left where this headed at the left corner in the library. And all I see is a bunch of stacked books at the table and the floor. Wow, this guy must be a huge nerd.

"Solar, Thunderstorm is here!" Thorn rushed to the table and slides every book at the side. What the heck? Wait, did I hear Thorn said 'Solar'? So, is the guy I'm calling as a huge nerd is Solar? Wow. Blaze would die laughing if he heard me saying that.

"So, Solar, what keeps you busy with these...?" I walked towards him while my eyes are locked in every book Thorn threw it. "…tons of books?" I sat on the floor, sitting in front of him while he's sitting on the chair.

Solar sighed in exhaustion and closed the book he's reading. Just what time did he woke up and went to this place anyway?

"I was researching about Geology and Gemology." He said in a straight tone while adjusting his glasses. His eyes are staring at the ceiling.

"...and why on Earth are you researching about that? You know, you could've ask Quake about it" _if he's a genius about this._

He sighed and stood up, stretching his arms. Then he pulled out something in his pocket. "Ever seen of this type of gem?" He asked as his golden eyes locked to my crimson one.

"Uhm...it's a ruby?" _Well, it looks like one._

"Exactly." He said, clearing his throat. "This is one perfectly icosahedrons-shaped ruby. And no, I don't think that this is even called a 'ruby' since this is more of 'magenta' colored gem."

"Uhm, okay, so what's so special about it anyway?" I asked, scratching my head.

"This ruby appeared in front of our backyard door, Thunderstorm, and it was glowing." He said, sitting down in his chair.

"Glowing? Maybe it got reflected by the sun?" I hypothesized.

He looks at me and tilts his head "How can the sun reflect this gem when it's 4 in the morning?" He commented.

"O-Oh..." Right, I forgot, Solar and Quake are the first ones who woke up every morning. "Continue with your research then, I'll stay quiet."

"Thank you." He quietly said and stood up, picking the books Thorn threw. I swear I heard him muttering an expletive word under his breath. I mean, why on Earth would someone throw the books aside when someone is busy finding answers? But eh, I don't think Solar is a type of person who can easily burst his bubble, I am…and Blaze or even Ice. Then he puts all of the 'perfectly' stacked books in the table. "I've been reading these books for hours and I still couldn't figure out what this can really do..." He mumbles.

He must be dead tired because of that one gem he's focusing on. Why is it so important? It's only glowing, so what's the big deal? Okay, now I want answers just like Solar. "Maybe taking a break at the cafe would be nice." I said as I stood up.

"See what I mean, Solar?" Thorn -who's standing beside me the whole time- said.

He sighed. "Alright, maybe a 15-minute break would be nice."

"Yes!" Thorn quietly shouts. Heh, he must be bored staying in this place.

"But first, I need to tell the librarian to stay these books here 'cause I'll be back." He said as he walks off.

"Wait for me!" Thorn follows him.

I chuckled under my breath and follow them. I quickly stopped and closed my eyes as the light is blocking my sight. As I looked down, I saw the ruby lying on the floor. Huh, Solar must've dropped it. I kneel down to pick it up but there's something that stopped me from it, it glows. Did it react something… _connected to me?_

I shook my head. _It must be the reflection of the sun_. As I picked up the ruby, it glows brighter than before.

 _"It's calling for me..."_

 _..._

 ** _"It needs me..."_**

The next thing I know is that the world's gone **black.**

 **.o.**

 **...Should I continue this or not? Lol to be honest, I'm kinda afraid to publish it since it's my first time to use fanfic (And no, I don't read some stories in Wattpad.) But eh, this is the beginning of the end so maybe I'll continue this when I have some free time ^^'**

 **Oh, I forgot! If you seen Forces (U know, the STH game), you already know what will happen to Thunderstorm ;) (but no spoilers at the comments if u know this ^^')**


	2. II-Ice

**A.N:** A THOUSAND APOLOGIES TO YOU GUYS FOR THOSE WHO ARE READING THIS! **[ahem]** I'm _really_ sorry for not updating this, I was really busy doing school projects and idk where I schedule my free time to do this. But since I'm a sneaky kind (of student), I can continue my story while le teacher's lecturing. (Eyy u multitasking bruh?) Oh shut up. Anyways, enjoy reading! And yeah if u spot a grammar or spelling error…just…leaf me alone **cri**. Ehh— just joking!

* * *

"...ce...wake up." A muffled voice said, buzzing in my ears.

I groaned "Leave me alone..." I mumbled and faced at the side of the bed, hugging the pillow tighter.

"Ice wake up!" A sweet, childish voice shouted almost near to my ear. Thanks Thorn, now you just became my next alarm clock that I want to destroy every day...

"Alright, alright, sheesh..." I groaned and opened my eyes. Then I realized that Thorn was sitting in the bed right in front of me smiling. "Yay, he's awake!" Okay, that was too childish for a 14-year-old boy...

I rubbed my eyes and sat down "Okay, what do you want?" I asked.

"O-Oh right," Thorn stood up and jumped off the bed. "What do you want with him again, Solar?" he asked, looking at the white vested boy. Well, Solar's looking at the window, not in front of me or Thorn.

"Um, it's not me, it's you." He said, looking at what he's holding. I couldn't figure out what he's holding, maybe because that it's small and...shiny? Is this one of Solar's photon energy? Or that thing he's holding is just reflecting the sun's light?

"Oh right." Then Thorn looks at me "I woke you up because I'll be bored when Solar and I are inside the library." he said and smiled sheepishly.

"...seriously?!" I shouted "There are seven of us here, Thorn, SEVEN. And you chose me instead of them?!" Well I couldn't help but to shout at him since I'm tired...and plus I hate when someone woke me up at a wrong time...wait, what time is it?

"W-well..." Thorn said as he quickly hid behind the bedroom door. "I wanted to ask Blaze but he's too reckless, he could burn the whole building." he stammered.

"How about Quake? Or Thunderstorm? Or even Cyclone?"

"O-Oh..." he mutters. "Um, they're —"

"Ice, think fast." Solar cuts Thorn's sentence as he quickly turned around to face me then throws a...small object? I...can't tell, really. Oh what am I doing, he'll kill me when that...thing breaks!

I quickly stood up and dived to the floor as the object was almost touched on it completely.

I sighed in relief and stood up. I took a deep breath and..."Do my face look like I was ready for that?!" Well, I have a purpose to be mad at things...not mostly since my polar opposite is kinda like that. No, scratch that, he's one hell of a wildfire.

Solar looked at me and chuckled "Well, at least you're fully awake now, you should thank Me." he smiled.

Ugh, I almost forgot that Solar is an 'Early Bird'...well, both Quake and Solar are. And to be honest, Solar is the most enthusiastic when the sun shines so bright...so bright that it almost burn my skin, damn it.

"Here" I said and threw it to Solar. Solar makes no reaction as he catches it 'perfectly' and smiled at me. Probably because he's a show off sometimes.

"Thank you, Solar." I said, hinting a sarcasm tone.

"—Ow!" A voice yelped in pain from the ground floor.

I looked at Solar with a surprised expression as he looked back at me.

"Quake!" Thorn yelled and ran down stairs.

"Thorn, wait!" Solar followed him "You're going to get hurt!"

I sighed. Oh boy, this is gonna be the best day of my life. I yawned and walked toward downstairs.

"Thorn, what did I told you about running downstairs?" Solar's voice rose in demand.

"I-I'm so sorry, Solar." Thorn squealed.

"Alright, what's going on here?" Quake's voice was heard.

"It's Thorn. He's breaking rules...again." Solar replied.

"I-I did not!" Thorn raised his voice and stumped his foot. He looked at Quake and hugged him "Thank goodness you're alright Quake."

"O-Okay...?" Quake scratched his head and looked at me from a foot apart "Good to see that you're waking up early, Ice."

"It's Thorn's fault for waking me up." I grumbled and crossed my arms.

"Right, so what's with the yelling, Quake?" Solar asked, looking at Quake with a somewhat worried look.

"Yelli— oh, I was cooking breakfast for you guys when oil splattered in my arm." He said and let go from Thorn's hug and showed his arm with a deep red rashes.

"Ouch." Solar reacted. "Hold on, let me get an ice pack for you." He ran to the kitchen to get an ice pack.

"Thanks, Solar." Quake said, hopefully he'll hear that.

...Wait, this place is quiet...too quiet.

"Uh, Quake? Where are the others?" I asked and sat on a couch in the living room.

"Well, Blaze and Cyclone are in the shop. It's a good thing that they woke up early to help Granddad." He smiled.

"Oh..." I mumbled.

 **(Ice, I choose you! XD)**

"That's what I'm trying to tell you, Ice." Thorn said as he sat beside me.

"For...what?" Quake asked as he sat on a chair.

"Well, Solar wanted to go to the library for his...research but he doesn't have anyone to go with him, so he picked me instead of the others." Thorn replied.

"Wait, when you said that he's in a research you're referring to the gem he's holding, right?" Quake said, his hands holding to his chin.

"Yep!" Thorn nodded.

"Is there something wrong about me?" Solar asked, holding a cloth and an ice pack while walking towards Quake "Because I heard my name."

"Oh, no, no, nothing's wrong, we were just talking about the gem." Thorn replied.

"Oh, okay." Solar said. "Let me see your rashes."

'He's calm in this situation, huh.' I thought as I observed Solar's movement as he wrap the ice packs in a cloth then wrapped it again in Quake's wounded arm.

"Thanks Solar." Quake smiled with appreciation.

"Well, anything for my Big Bro!" Solar smiled a smile that resembles Thorn's smile.

"Can you teach me to do that next time, Solar?" Thorn asked. His eyes sparkled with curiosity at him.

"Of course." Solar replied and looked at his watch "The library will soon open, come on, let's get going." Solar walked towards the door.

Thorn and I stood up in unison.

"Race ya to the finish line, Ice!" Thorn shouted and ran to the outside.

"Whelp, we gotta get going, see you later, Quake!" I waver at him and walked outside the house.

"Thorn! Oh for goodness sake I—" Solar stopped as he bumped into someone. He's to focus on Thorn he didn't even notice his surroundings.

Clink! A sound of an object —a stone to be specific— was heard. I looked down as something was rolling in front of me and it stops as soon as it hits to my shoes.

"Oh." I mumbled. Guess Solar dropped this when he bumped into someone. As I picked the gem, the world I'm seeing is starting to get blurry. I tried to stay balanced and conscious but something was preventing me from doing it, like, it wants me to drown into the darkness. Then I heard a voice —a voice that was too familiar to me— haunting in my head.

 _ **Fun is infinite...**_

"..Ice, hey Ice!"

"Wh-wha..." I groaned as a blurred figure helped me regain my balance.

"Are you okay? What happened?" A looked at the person who was helping me, it was Solar.

"I-I'm fine, I guess..." I mumbled.

"Is losing your balance fine to you?" Solar said, raising his eyebrow.

"Alright fine, but still, if I say this to you, you aren't gonna believe it." I crossed my arms.

"Go on..." Solar does the same. Wait is he worried about me or Thorn? Okay, I'll make this explanation fast.

I took a deep breath "Well, when I picked up this gem, I almost lose consciousness and I heard voices. There, I said it."

Solar took a pause and grabbed my arm "Don't even say a word." Then he walked quickly, dragging me to the library.

Alright, mister, I won't say any word.

-A few minutes later-

"We're her—"

"Solar, Ice!" Thorn ran towards us and quickly gives a hug. A tight one.

"Thorn...air...!" Solar chocked, his mouth's wide open to catch a breath.

"Right, right, sorry." Thorn quickly let go from the hug and sheepishly smiles. "What too you guys so long anyway?"

"I'll explain later, Thorn." He said as he walked towards the library.

"Huh, whad'ya look at that. Somebody's a nerd." Thorn looks at me and burst out a laugh.

"Oh man, wait till I say that to Blaze!" He chuckled "It's the first time I heard ya saying that, brother." He lightly punches my arm.

I chuckled. "Alright, we gotta follow him now, or else we'll get lost once we get there." I grabbed his arm lightly and walked inside the library.

And would you look at this place...it feels cozy, calm, refreshing. I sighed in relief, now this is para—

"Psst— hey, over here!" Thorn whispered emphatically and waves his arm for attention.

I walked over Thorn and asked him "Where's Solar?" I whispered back.

Thorn quickly grabs my arm and walked towards where they sat —or where Solar sat. Wait; did he even know where Solar is? I mean, once that Nerd is inside in this library, he'll be exploring some books 24/7. Or this is Thorn's hunch. Ugh...this is boring, if Thorn chooses Blaze over me, I could sleep all day but no, he chose me because 'Blaze can cause fire in this building.' I thought with a bit of Thorn's mimic attitude and yawned.

"Here we are!" Thorn whispered emphatically and sat on a chair. Well there are two chairs and a table and plus, it's placed at the corner of the building. Huh, looks like someone wants some privacy. Wait, where's Solar? I sat down beside the table and get myself a comfortable spot.

"Oh I almost forgot Solar's getting books for his research so..." Thorn paused. "We'll wait for a while I guess..?" he said and shrugged.

"Nah, we'll sleep." I said and slowly close my eyes, drifting to sleep.

...

 _ **'This is the power you desire the most...'**_

I woke up with a jerk as soon as I heard someone shouted in pain.

"Thunderstorm!" Thorn yelled. Thunderstorm? Since when did he arrived here? Ugh, think about that later Ice! I stood up and ran to where Thorn is.

"Is something wrong Tho—" I cut off in mid sentence as I looked at Thorn with wide eyes. His expression was like he was almost traumatized in an accident as his eyes are locked to Thunderstorm. Nevertheless, I looked to Thunderstorm hissing in pain as his hands held up to cover his bloody eyes. I was shocked. I breathed myself in and out to stay calm. 'Whatever happened to him...whoever does this is...'

My eyes widened as I saw the gem below me glowing...sinisterly, like, something...this thing did something wrong...I-I can't tell...I—

"Move aside, people!" I looked at the direction on where the familiar voice was shouting. Then I saw a crowd that was looking at us —at this accident we're dealing with. The murmurs of the crowd were buzzing in my ear. Some words are clear like 'Call the ambulance' and 'someone help these guys'. And the others? Well, they're just holding their phones...ugh, teens these days...

"Ice, lay him down on the floor. And make sure that he's away from sunlight." Solar instructed, although there's a hint that his voice is trembling...or panicking. I did what Solar instructed me. "I'll call the—"

"No need, the emergency is coming their way here." One of the teen said, cutting Solar in mid sentence. I looked at the person who said it and it was a girl holding a book from her left hand and a phone on the right.

Solar sighed in relief and thanked the girl. He held his hand to his left chest. He closes his eyes as he felt his heart beating faster. He opens his eyes to look at Thorn. I did the same as him. Then he walked towards Thorn.

"It's going to be alright, brother." Solar hugged him. Thorn's eyes slowly closed as he felt his brother's comfort. Then Solar looks at me with a sharp expression. "Who did this?" he asked.

I glared at him. The hell should I know?! I've been sleeping for how long I've been...sleeping and why the hell are you staring at me in that expression?!

"Ice, calm down. Don't let your words be a thought." Solar said in a calm tone. How is he keeping up like this? Thunderstorm's hurt, Thorn is traumatized...and panicked, how?!

"Ice, please don't be like Blaze..." Solar said. "You're spreading your power aura..." He added and pointed his index finger at the glass window which is almost covered with ice. Just like Blaze spreading his fire aura when he's angry, I can do the opposite of him. Oh who am I kidding; I'll make this place a blizzard if I can't balance my emotions. I breathed in and out.

"Y-you're right...I-I'm sorry." I apologized. "But why are you acting so mean to me when I did nothing wrong?"

"I just..." He looked at Thunderstorm who is lying unconsciously then at Thorn who is lying down at Solar's lap, then he looked at the crowd. "You guys keep doing what you...do. Just leave us for a moment."

The others nodded and went back to their own business, except for the girl who called the emergency. She just looked at...Thunderstorm. Creepy.

"Uhm, do you have anything else to do than staring at him?" I asked to the girl. Okay, that was a bit rude.

She looked at me and turned around "Seeing is believing..." she said and faded away from our sight.

I looked at Solar with a confusing look. "What was that all about?"

"Seeing is believing? What is she talking about?" Solar mumbled.

I opened my mouth for a reply but I heard a siren screaming closer in a distance. "Help is here." I said and stood up.

I heard the door's echo that slammed open; the footsteps draw near to our sight.

"What happened?" One of the helper said.

...

I stared at the white ceiling for...how many hours? I can't tell the time right. I'm too spaced out. No, I don't think that I'm spaced out...I was thinking about the incident that happened today. For chaos'— if only I'm wide awake I could save him or avoided him from that accident. I sighed. Solar's gonna be mad at me. But there's one thing that it's bothering me...

'Seeing is believing.'

What the hell does that even mean? Sure, she saved our time to call the emergency but that? That was plain creepy. I putted my hands on my pocket.

What the? I slowly pulled out the gem that was in my pocket...this...whole time...I didn't remember picking this up...did I? I shivered in fear as I felt like something was touching me.

Then I heard the door creaking open and I quickly hid the gem back in my pocket "Thank you, Doctor." Solar's voice said.

I stood up and walked towards him. "So, how is he? Is he okay or—"

"Give me a moment, please..." Solar muttered. He walked to the corner of the hall and...stare at the nothingness? I sighed and followed him.

"Solar, are you—"

"Everything's not fine, Ice!" he shouted and looked at me, his tears are showing from his cheeks as it rolls down. "He almost got killed and...and you? What did you do this whole day? Nothing! You're just sleeping! Can't you do something else than sleeping for Chaos' sake?"

"S-Solar..." I was quavered. I don't know that he thought of me that way. My heart's beating faster. I'm shaking uncontrollably and I can't control my emotions. W-What's going on...?

"Tsk, you're nothing special, Ice. All you can do is sit around, being lazy all day. I thought you're a hero. You know, if you aren't lazy, you could save Thunderstorm. It's better if you..." Oh Chaos please no...

 _ **"If you didn't exist in this damned world we live in."**_ He looked at me with a sharp glare just like before and his tears turned into red...as blood.

"Solar, I— I didn't meant to—" I held my hands to my head as I felt a sharp pain stabbing in my mind repeatedly. I can't handle it...this is too much.

"Get out!" I shouted, clenching my teeth as the pain continues.

"Ice? Ice are you okay?" A voice said, a warm hand tapping my shoulder.

The pain has stopped. I opened my eyes and looked at...nothing? Wait, wasn't Solar there? Then I looked behind me. It was Solar...

"I...I thought you were...h-here..." I said as I'm shaking in fear. I pointed my index finger in the corner of the hall.

Solar looked at where I'm pointing at "...Are you sure that you aren't sleepwalking and sleep talking Ice?" He asked to me worriedly.

"I'm not, I— oh forget it, you aren't gonna believe me." I walked back to where I sat down. What was that all about..? First; I heard a strange noise in my head when I picked the gem, second; an accident occurred in the library, third; A girl who says something creepy and fourth; Solar's angry at me for being...useless. Like I was thinking of myself for how many hours...and the gem...am I getting insane?

"I do believe in you but—"

"Uhm, Mister? Uh, Thorn wants to see you right now..." I looked at where the voice is coming from. Then I saw the nurse —who was standing beside the door— said, cutting Solar in mid sentence.

Solar sighed "You must excuse me for a bit, Ice." He walked towards the door to where the nurse is standing. He looked at her with a smile as a greeting "And please, call me Solar." He said and closed the door.

Then we're back at being quiet, again. I pulled out the gem and looked deeply into it. I feel like I was dragged into the spirals of the gem's wonderland, dragged into the abyss where nonexistence lived and having a power that was exceeding from the outside world.

 _"What do you want from me..?"_

* * *

Hallelujah I'm done! Finally I can rest! (Ahh...I put too much explicit words here...gahddam-)

Edit: Gahdammit so many errors found in mah storeh—

...  
Naah— never mind I can still continue this, as long as either I'll post it every week or everyday IF I'm fast enough to type since my mind is faster than my typing X3

Next chapter: Thorn's point of view…

Bai bai! See y'all next week! (I guess...)


	3. Author's Note

Heya fellow readers who seemed to forgotten me over the year— I mean months. Miss me? Nah, I don't think so, I bet u hate me so much because I didn't update the story so here's a not-so-clear explanation:

I started to continue the rest of the Chapters in my phone (Chapter 3 first, others l8er XD), typing it in class, usually free time. And here comes the worst part; there's so many damn school projects that focused of performance like making videos, making research papers or smt. And that's the part where I laid off from the phone for a while and use the laptop (since I'm the only one who can video edit in my group) and when I'm out of resources or missing some video clips, I started to type for Chapter 4 since it was all about Blaze's POV. When I'm some of my projects are submitted, I started to continue it through the computer since my mom's turn to use the laptop for her own...school business. But I got to take a break from that and study for at least 2 weeks for the finals. After that, Chap. 3 & 4 got half of their story pieces and send them all (Phone and PC) to the laptop to continue it...which is I'm using it now since it's already vacation. (In a nutshell; PhoneLaptopPC and repeat) So yeah, I'll try my best to post Twin Chapters tomorrow. Au revior!


	4. Thorn

...Are you guys still here? No? Okay then XD

And be reminded that I didn't proofread this chapter (so is Chap. 4 cuz I'm tired) so yeah- RIP my spellings and grammars.

* * *

"The wind brushing whistles like it's calling you...the sun smiles brightly...isn't this amazing, Thorn?" Blaze looked at me from above the tree and smiled.

 **Flash**

"What took you both so long?" I said, putting both of my hands on my waist.

 **Flash**

"Thorn...isn't this great...we have the power which can change their lives forever..." A figure who is sitting on a chair —a throne if I'm guessing it right— said. His smile was charming, like a prince.

 **Flash**

"Thorn..."

 _ **Crack—**_

I looked at where the voice called my name. Then all of the sudden, everything turns red.

"N...no..." My eyes widened in horror as I saw Thunderstorm held his hands on his head as his eyes are bleeding.

"Why...why can't you save me...to save—"

I can't breathe...

I thought as someone strangled me in the neck tightly.

"...him?" They all looked at me deadpanned, I want to step back but...I can't...there's someone strangling me. I can't escape...please...

"H-help...me..."

...

{-}

"Thorn...Thorn!" A voice muffled from my ear as the figure keeps on shaking my shoulders.

I gasped out of breath. _It's just a dream, Thorn...just a horrific dream..._

"Are you alright?" Solar asked, looking at me with a worried expression.

"Solar..." I grunted, "Let go of me..."

"O-Oh..." He let go from shaking me "My apologies. I just..."

Then suddenly, he hugged me "I'm worried about you..." he said.

Worried? Did he saw me rolling side to side and held my hands to my head? Well, that's what they all do when you're having nightmares, right?

"Uh...thanks, Solar." I replied.

"Solar!" A voice said that came from downstairs.

Solar let go from the hug and stood up "Wait, be right back." he left from our bedroom and goes downstairs.

I took a deep breath and I quickly covered my eyes from something glowing beside me. "For Mother Nature's sake, I really hope Solar didn't leave the flashlight on." I mumbled as my hand slowly reached out to the object that glows.

As I touched it, there was a flash. And that flash showed me a vision...a vision where-

"Thorn..." It's that voice again...the voice that drags me to the place where everything is red...

"Thorn..?" It's calling me again.

'No matter what you say, I can't look at you to see your face...' I took a deep breath 'I wanted to help you...but I can't...'

Am I trembling..? Why do my eyes feel so heavy? I wanted to cry but I can't...why..? I started to fell on my knees as my hands are held on my head. I don't want to look at this eerie surroundings, it's too much. I'm scared. Solar, where are you?

"Thorn~"

My eyes widened in surprised, 'that voice...' I looked behind me and saw a shadowy figure reaches me, its arms extend as it wants a hug.

"Thorn..." The shadow figure said as its hands are touching smoothly to my cheeks "Why didn't you save him?" The figure suddenly laughs as its hands are reaching for my neck and strangles it.

"S-stop it..." I said in a trembled voice. _What's happening? Is this a dream I'm experiencing? If it is, I want to wake up!_

"Just give up, Thorn~" The figure calls my name as he keeps strangling me, giggling as he grins at me.

"Thorn..." My vision is starting to fade. Am I losing it? Did I just give up easily? N-no...I don't want to...

'Give me the light that guided me, please...' I slowly reached my hands at the nothingness as I'm starting lose consciousness.

"Thorn!" A voice shouted. It calls my name as if it wanted to reach out for me. To save me. Then suddenly, a figure saved me with a warm embrace. "It's okay, I'm here, I'm here, and you're okay." I didn't even realize that it was Solar's voice.

He was worried about me, his voice is trying to comfort me but, why am I still shaking? My tears are falling, my chest feels heavy. I'm too scared.

"Solar, please don't leave me alone!" I sobbed as I embraced him tighter.

"I know, I know." he cajoled. "I-I'm sorry I left you behind." He added.

Of all my brothers, Solar is the most closest and knows me better than everybody else. Well, mostly, I think.

He let go from the hug and confronted me, meeting that golden eyes with a worrisome expression. "Tell me, what happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Solar..." I sniffled "There was this dream where everyone's dying...I-"

He putted his index finger on his lips "Everything will be alright, Thorn. It's only just a dream, nothing bad will happen today." he consoled.

I wiped off my tears and smiled. _Besides, that's just a dream, right?_

"Alright!" I cheered. I hope that he's right...wait, what am I thinking? Of course he's right!

"Now that's the Thorn I know!" He said, giving me a bright smile and a thumb up.

I giggled. "Um, Thorn, can I ask you something?" Solar asked.

"Yep! What is it?" I replied.

"Can you go to the library with me? I'll be bored when I'm all alone in there..." Solar pleaded.

"Aw how can I say no to my brother, of course I'll go!" I replied, patting his head lightly. Heh, It makes me feel like I'm the oldest when I'm patting him. "I just need to wake up someone for more fun." I added.

I happily walked outside my bedroom. Okay, who should I wake up? Blaze or Thunderstorm..? Eh, I'll go with Blaze, it'll be more fun with him!

I walked towards Blaze' room and slammed the door open, sang happily "Somebody once told me-!"

"Sugar honey ice tea!" Blaze shrieked as all of his things he carried fell into the floor. "Ah geez...Thorn don't scare me like that!" he exclaimed.

I laughed sheepishly "Sorry, I thought that you're asleep." I went to him and picked up the books he let go.

"And now I'm wide awake as hell...geez you almost making me died from a heart attack." he commented.

I looked at him and smiled "At least you didn't die." I said.

Blaze looked at me, his arms are crossed. I could hear his hum lowly as he raises his eyebrow.

"Um, something wrong Blaze?" I asked.

Blaze shook his head lightly and looked at the window "N-nothing." he mumbled.

I sighed and stood up, giving him the books "Here."

He looked at me then at the books. "Put them all in the shelves." he demanded.

"Alright!" I said, giving him a salute. I turned my back and walk towards the mini bookshelf. As I put the books to the shelves one by one, I noticed that these are the books that granddad used to read with us before we go to bed and sleep.

"Why did you pick these books, Blaze? Did Ice read you a book to help you rest?" I looked at him and teased.

"Oh shut up, I was just looking for a story where a girl fell on a rabbit hole, that's all..." Blaze looked away in embarrassment. I swear I saw him blushing.

"A girl fell down a rabbit hole..." I wondered to myself. "Oh! You mean Alice in the Wonderland, right?" I said.

"Yeah, that." Blaze replied. "I was looking for that story to lessen up my boredom..." he added.

"What boredom? Are you gonna stay here for the whole day?" I asked in curiosity.

"Uh no, I'm gonna help at the shop today, and oh boy it's gonna be so frustrating..." Blaze hesitated.

"Aw, what do you mean 'frustrating' of course it'll be fun!" I beamed.

"Fun? You think that some costumers arguing over one damn thing can be fun?" Blaze questioned as he looked at me.

"Uhm...well..." I mumbled.

Blaze sighed in exhaustion. "It's gonna be stressful I tell ya, and I hate it, really." Blaze grumbled. "And you do know what I'll do when I get stress, right?"

"Yeah...?" I sheepishly said.

"I could bring hell in here, Thorn." He looked at me with an eerie stare.

I gulped. He's not joking, right? Right?

Then he punched my arm lightly "Aw don't be scared, bro, I'm just kidding." He said and winked. His words may not be true, but that reminds me of my dream...

"Whelp, I gotta get going." He said as he left at his bedroom...Ice and Blaze's bedroom. Wait, where's Ice? I looked down at the double-decked bed but he's not here. Wait; is he in Thunderstorm's bedroom again? If he is...

I quickly ran towards Thunderstorm's bedroom and slowly opened the door since I don't want him to get disappointed. "Ice..?"

There was no response. I guess I have to enter the room without permission, huh...well at least I have a reason to 'trespass' his bedroom.

"Ice..." I said, louder this time.

Again, there was no response. As I looked at the first deck of the bed, I saw Ice sleeping peacefully while hugging a pillow. Aw, he looks so cute.

"There you are Thorn." I turned at Solar who is also entering the room. "Ah geez don't run off like that."

"I didn't." I replied quietly.

Solar looked at me with a confused expression. "What are you even doing at Thunderstorm's bedroom? You know that he'll be angry to those who 'trespass' his bedroom, right?"

"Uhm, yeah..." I said sheepishly. "But this isn't just his bedroom; this is also Cyclone's bedroom." I added.

"Right..." he said firmly."Speaking of Cyclone, where is he?" he questioned.

"I dunno." I said and shrugged. I clapped my hands and looked at Ice who is sleeping. "Okay, time to wake you up!"

I sat in front of him and took a deep breath. "Ice, wake up." I whispered to his ears.

"Leave me alone..." Ice mumbled and turns to the side of the bed, hugging the pillow tighter.

I crossed my arms. I guess I'll have to do this every day, huh Ice. "Ice wake up!" I shouted.

"Alright, alright, sheesh..." he groaned and looked at me with a glare.

"Yay, he's awake!" I said and clapped my hands.

He rubbed his eyes and sat down. "Okay, what do you want?" he asked.

I paused for a moment. Wait, what am I doing here again? I looked at Solar for a bit then at Ice "O-Oh right..." I stood up and jumped off the bed. "What do you want with him again, Solar?" I asked.

"Um, it's not me, its you." he said as he raised his eyebrow. Wait...oh now I get it!

"Oh right." I said and looked at Ice. "I woke you up because I'll be bored when Solar and I are inside the library." I said and smiled sheepishly.

"...seriously?!" he shouted, making me jolt a little. "There are seven of us here, Thorn, SEVEN. And you chose me instead of them?!"

"W-well..." Oh geez...he acts just like Blaze when I'm the one who's waking him up. I quickly hid behind the bedroom door. "I wanted to ask Blaze but he's too reckless, he could burn the whole building." I stammered.

"How about Quake? Or Thunderstorm? Or even Cyclone?" he asked.

"O-Oh..." I muttered. Wait, where are they by the way? If Thunderstorm and Cyclone isn't here, then they must be at Granddad's shop. "Um, they're-"

"Ice, think fast." Solar cut in mid sentence. I closed my mouth and just watch them.

'At least Ice didn't experience some nightmares...' I thought to myself. 'Even Solar didn't have those...'

I closed my eyes. 'Come on, Thorn, stop thinking about it! It's just a dream...' I slowly opened my eyes.

'It's just a...' I'm back in my dreams again. Why does this keep happening to me? Oh Solar, where are you?

'And after all this time you're back for more...' A raspy voice taunted.

I closed my eyes again. I don't want to experience these 'hallucinations' again, these 'fears' I've encountered...

'So I'll take what's mine and start this war!' The voice yelled. I feel like someone's approaching me rapidly, like it wants to battle me.

"-Ow!" I opened my eyes as I heard a voice yelped in pain from below. 'I did it...I faced my fears...' I thought. 'I think...'

Wait...that must be...

"Quake!" I yelled and ran outside the bedroom and downstairs.

"Thorn wait!" Solar shouted and followed me. "You're going to get hurt!"

I stopped and walked towards the kitchen but was stopped by Solar as he holds my shoulders. "Thorn, what did I told you about running downstairs?" his voice rose in demand.

"I-I'm sorry, Solar." I squealed.

"Alright, what's going on here?" Quake said as he crossed his arms.

"It's Thorn. He's breaking the rules...again." Solar replied.

"I-I did not!" I raised my voice and stumped my foot. I looked at Quake and gave him a hug. "Thank goodness you're alright Quake." Yeah...thank goodness you're all alright...

"O-Okay..?" Quake said and scratched his head then he turned his head to Ice. "Good to see that you're waking up early, Ice."

"It's Thorn's fault for waking me up." Ice grumbled and crossed his arms.

Then I let go from the hug. "Right, so what's with the yelling, Quake?" Solar asked.

"Yelli-oh, I was cooking breakfast for you guys when the oil splattered my arm." He said as he let go from my hug and showed his arm with a deep red rashes.

"Ouch." Solar reacted. "Hold on, let me get an ice pack for you." He ran to the kitchen to get an ice pack. And here I thought I'm the one who's breaking the rules here...

"Thanks Solar." Quake said.

Then silence took over.

"Uh Quake? Where are the others?" Ice asked and sat on a couch in the living room.

"Well, Blaze and Cyclone are in the shop. It's a good thing that they woke up early to help Granddad." He said and smiled.

"Oh..." Ice mumbled.

I chuckled and walked towards the couch where Ice sat. "That's what I'm trying to tell you, Ice." I said as I sat beside him.

"For...what?" Quake questioned as he sat on a chair.

"Well, Solar wanted to go to the library for his...research but he doesn't have anyone to go with him, so he picked me instead of the others." I answered.

"Wait, when you said that he's in a research you're referring to the gem he's holding, right?" Quake said, his hands holding to his chin.

"Yep!" I nodded.

"Is there something wrong about me?" Solar asked, holding a cloth and an ice pack while walking towards Quake. "Because I heard my name."

"Oh no, no, nothing's wrong; we were just talking about the gem." I replied.

"Oh, okay." Solar said as he looked at Quake. "Let me see your rashes."

Quake nodded and showed him his almost-injured arm. Ouch...cooking is a bit dangerous to your physical health; huh...no wonder Blaze doesn't want me to learn how to cook. Wait, is it because he's too reckless to do things or is it just me? Eh, I prefer my first opinion about Blaze than me.

"There, all done." Solar said, snapping me back into reality. Wow, that was fast.

"Thanks Solar." Quake smiled with appreciation.

"Well, anything for my Big Bro!" Solar smiled. A smile that resembles like me...

"Can you teach me how to do that next time, Solar?" I asked with curiosity. My eyes are sparkling with determination.

"Of course." Solar replied and looked at his watch. "The library will open soon, come on, and let's get going." he added and runs off, leaving us behind.

Well, not for me you don't.

I suddenly stood up and dashes off, not caring about everything that surrounds me.

"Race ya to the finish line Ice!" I yelled.

As I run, the scene rapidly changes from houses to trees and people chattering, some of them are sitting on a bench talking to each other—oof!

I fell off the ground, rubbing my head. Did I bump into someone..? "Ouch..."

"Ah geez, you need to watch where you're going kid!" A teenager exclaimed.

"I-I'm so sorry!" I apologised, standing up and bowed to him. "I swear I won't do this again!"

"You better be." The teenager said. "Or else you'll regret it." he added walking off with his other friends.

 _Rude._ I thought. I looked at my surroundings. Huh, it seems like I'm in the park right now. Oh well, better keep on moving before—

"We're her—" My ears perked when I heard that familiar voice.

"Solar! Ice!" I ran towards them and quickly gives them a warm hug.

"Thorn...air...!" Solar chocked, his mouth's wide open to catch a breath.

"Right, right, sorry." I quickly let go from the hug and sheepishly smiles. "What too you guys so long anyway?"

"I'll explain later, Thorn." He said as he walked towards the library.

"Huh, whad'ya look at that. Somebody's a nerd." I looked at Blaze for a moment and laughed.

"Oh man, wait till I say that to Blaze!" I chuckled "It's the first time I heard ya saying that, brother." I said and lightly punches his arm.

He chuckled. "Alright, we gotta follow him now, or else we'll get lost once we get there." he grabbed my arm lightly and walked inside the library.

{-}

When we get inside, I saw few people reading books in a table with their friend. Huh, I didn't know that reading books with your friend will bring a closer relationship. Eh, the more you know, I guess. Now where was I..? Oh right. I looked at Ice…which he seemed to be comfortable about this place.

"Psst— hey, over here!" I whispered emphatically and waved my arm for attention.

He walked towards me and asked "Where's Solar?"

I quickly grabs my arm and walked towards where he sat.

"Here we are!" Thorn whispered emphatically and sat on a chair. I looked at Ice, who seemed to be in a 'Where is he?' expression.

"Oh I almost forgot Solar's getting books for his research so..." I paused. "We'll wait for a while I guess..?" I said and shrugged.

"Nah, we'll sleep." he said and closed his eyes. Oh dear…he's sleeping in a library, hopefully no one finds him sleeping.

{-}

"…This is boring." I muttered as I walked every shelf in the library. As I heard the door open, I realized that the person who went inside this library is—

"Thunderstorm!" I shouted.

"Would you keep it down? We're in the library." A boy, getting a book from a shelf, quietly said.

I went towards him and gave him a warm hug. "What brings you here, Thunder?" I asked

"I was wondering what you guys are working on." he said.

"Oh, wait, excuse me for a moment." I walked to the person who warned me to keep my voice down.

"Sorry about that, I didn't mean for that to happen." I said in a quiet tone and bowed my head.

"It's okay, at least you aren't gonna do that next time." The boy said.

"Thank you!" I said and went back to Thunderstorm.

"Well, are you looking for Solar?" I said in a quiet voice.

He nodded.

"C'mon, follow me." I said and grabbed his arm lightly, walking to where we sat down.

 _..Oh geez I forgot the way!_

{-}

I think it's been minutes since we walked every shelf. He sighed and stopped walking. "Thorn, are you sure this is the right way? I know I shouldn't be complaining since I'm not present in your...project, I'm just saying."

I stopped and looked at him and giggled "We're almost there Thunder. You know, you kinda act like Blaze today."

"I'm just saying, sheesh." He looked at his left and cross his arms.

I giggled a bit "Okay, okay, Mr. Edgy-guy." I grabbed his arm and walks left where this headed at the left corner in the library..

"Solar, Thunderstorm is here!" I rushed to the table and slides every book at the side.

"So, Solar, what keeps you busy with these...?" he walked towards Solar and looked at the books I threw. "…tons of books?" he sat on the floor, sitting in front of him while Solar's sitting on the chair.

Solar sighed in exhaustion and closed the book he's reading

"I was researching about Geology and Gemology." He said in a straight tone while adjusting his glasses. His eyes are staring at the ceiling.

 _Wait, where did he get that glasses? If I remembered it correctly, maybe it was Ying's present..?_

"...and why on Earth are you researching about that? You know, you could've ask Quake about it"

He sighed and stood up, stretching his arms. Then he pulled out the gem in his pocket. "Ever seen of this type of gem?"

I slowly back away, fearing that something might happen.

"Uhm...it's a ruby?" Thunderstorm guessed.

"Exactly." He said, clearing his throat. "This is one perfectly icosahedrons-shaped ruby. And no, I don't think that this is even called a 'ruby' since this is more of 'magenta' colored gem."

"Uhm, okay, so what's so special about it anyway?" he asked, scratching his head.

"This ruby appeared in front of our backyard door, Thunderstorm, and it was glowing." He said, sitting down in his chair.

"Glowing? Maybe it got reflected by the sun?" Thunderstorm hypothesized.

Solar looks at him and tilts his head "How can the sun reflect this gem when it's 4 in the morning?" He commented.

"O-Oh..." he muttered. "Continue with your research then, I'll stay quiet."

"Thank you." He quietly said and stood up, picking the books I threw.

Then he puts all of the stacked books in the table. "I've been reading these books for hours and I still couldn't figure out what this can really do..." He mumbles.

"Maybe taking a break at the cafe would be nice." he said as he stood up.

"See what I mean, Solar?" I said, groaning with boredom.

He sighed. "Alright, maybe a 15-minute break would be nice."

"Yes!" Thorn quietly shouts.

"But first, I need to tell the librarian to stay these books here 'cause I'll be back." He said as he walks off.

"Wait for me!" I followed him.

"Hey, you can read books to lighten up your boredom, you know." Solar said, patting my head.

"I know but, I'm not in a mood of reading right now." I said and pouted.

"Oh really?" Solar said, raising his eyebrow.

"Really." I crossed my arms.

"Eh, I can't argue with that lil' bro." he teased and snickered.

"Yeah, I guess you're ri—"

I stopped as I heard someone shouted in pain. That voice…

"Thunderstorm!" Solar quickly turned back and ran to his space.

 _That can't be…_

I don't want to look…

 _..No. Just to be sure that this isn't the one in your dreams._

..A-Alright.

I walked back to his space and my eyes are widened with horror as I saw the floor filling up Thunderstorm's blood…

 _This can't be happening…_

 _I don't want him to die…_ _ **I DON'T WANT HIM TO DIE!**_

…I lost conscious.

{-}

"Ugh..." I groaned and my eyes slowly lit up. Where am I? Wait...is this the library? Why is it so...messy? All of the books have been engulfed with small flames and the shelves been broken down. This is chaotic...

"Hello?" I shouted as my voice echoed.

"I guess no one's here..." I mumbled and stood up. Wait, I'm forgetting someone...

"Thunderstorm!" I shouted and ran to find him.

"Thundersto—mmph!" I muffled as someone held its hands on my mouth to shut up.

"Get out of my way!" A familiar voice exclaimed. Wait...Thunderstorm? Then he threw me off to the wall so hard that I passed through the wall, lying at the ground outside.

"Ugh..." I rubbed my head. Wait, I'm not feeling any pain...what's going on?

"Thunder Spear!" A voice shouted. Thunder...spear? That move set is from Thunderstorm...wait. I looked at the sky that is booming like a lightning, striking to the Earth's ground. I quickly stood up and ran back to the library to take shelter.

"Gah!" I exclaimed as one of the spears almost sliced me into half. This is a powerful move...how can someone have this kind of power..?

"That's too weak for you, Thunderstorm. I never thought that you have the same moves as him." A voice echoed. I could also hear its coughing from exhaustion.

" _Him_? You're referring to the one who also surpass your powers, right?" Thunderstorm's voice replied. I bet he's smirking right now. No one's gonna surpass his capability of fighting, no matter what enemies he encounter. I quickly sneaked to where they fight. There was no response of the enemy as the silence took over.

"Faker?" Thunderstorm added with a smirk. As I looked at the scene, I gasped. Two...Thunderstorms? The other one seems fine, but the other...it's the same as the one in my dreams...its eyes are bleeding while his hands held something glowing. Wait, if he said that the other Thunderstorm's weak, how can he see with those bleeding eyes? Or worse, who's the real Thunderstorm?

"Last straw, Thunderstorm. If you really want my powers, give up. I know you desire it so much." The other one said —the one with the bleeding eyes— as he slowly walked towards the other.

"Tsk, I changed my mind when I saw the vision. You're planning to make the world go chaotic." The other one replied as he slowly backed off.

"Smart move, but you must know," The other —the one where his eyes are bleeding...never mind, I'll call him Blood— poked the other's forehead. "That I'm just following the person's desire." he added.

Visions? Desire? What is he talking about?

"And you." Blood said as his voice is near like it's whispering to my ears. My eyes widened. I didn't know that he's standing in front of me now. "You've seen too much, I didn't know that your brother was this torturous to you...oh well..."

Then all of the sudden, it went black. Every one of them is all disappeared in a flash. Please wake up, me...

My eyes slowly opened up. The surroundings are all white as I'm sitting on a chair alone.

Then, a figure from a distance, walked towards me. "Thorn." A voice called as the figure starts to resemble someone...

Ice.

"Hey Thorn." He said and waved at me.

"Ice!" I gasped. I wanted to stand up and give him a hug but I can't. Something's forcing me to sit still. Oh well, I guess this is another dream again, except that the surrounding's more relaxing than the other.

"You look pale, everything alright?" He asked, tilting his head on the right.

Pale? Oh right, I was...no...Thunderstorm...all of the events was almost real.

"It's Thunderstorm, is he okay?" I asked.

"Oh, him, oh right. Well," Then he walked towards me and stood beside me. "He's safe, all thanks to him, Thorn." He said. Wait, who is he referring? Ice or Solar?

"I see..." I replied and smiled. Aahh, if only I could move...

It was a brief moment when silence took over the place, and then it was shattered by Ice's voice echoing "Hey Thorn?" He asked.

"Yeah?" I replied, looking at him.

"...Do you think Solar would mad at me?" He asked but this time, his voice was quivering.

"Why would he be mad at you when you haven't done anything wrong?" I asked. Ah this is getting a bit confuse... no one's stating answers...

"Well think about it Thorn, if I was awake the whole time, I could prevent the whole scene happening there at the library." He answered.

"But, it was no one's fault, right?" I said. No matter how I made an eye contact, the bill of his cap is preventing me from doing it. Maybe he wants to be mysterious?

"Heh, I bet Solar would be mad at me." He continued.

"Solar isn't the kind of person who can blame others, Ice, he wants more investigations than jumping into conclusions." I objected.

He faintly smiled "I wonder what he'll say to me..." he mumbled.

"Ice, you don't mean by—"

"Oh that's right...he'll hope that I'll never **exist** in this world." He looked at me straight into his eyes and smiled. A smile that represents of how broken a person is...like a meltdown.

Then he stood in front of me and held me a sharp object. "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

"I know you want to kill me, because you want a better ending with none of us exist..."

 **SLASH**

...

 **DRIP**

{-}

"Ice!" I shouted as I quickly opened my eyes.

"Oh dear. Anything wrong, sweetie?" A nurse said, as she quickly approached to me with a worried look.

"What...happened?" I asked.

"Oh, you fainted during the accident. But at least you're fine now." She smiled.

"Can...Can I speak to Solar for a moment?" I asked.

"Oh sure, wait here." She replied and went to the door.

I looked at the surroundings. Did I...really faint? And what happened to Thunderstorm? Is he okay? I sighed. I really need answers from Solar...

"And please, call me Solar." Solar's voice echoed in this silent room. I quickly sat on the bed as he walked towards me. "Are you alright, Thorn?" He looked at me with a worried expression.

"I'm alright...but what happened to Thunderstorm?" I asked.

"He'll be okay, but..." Solar stopped as he bit his lips.

"But what?" I asked. Please tell me he's fine...

"He'll see everything blurred from now on." He said, looking away from me.

"But..." I mumbled. "He still sees us, right?" I pleaded.

"I don't know..." He muttered. "But he'll still remember us." He looked at me and smiled.

I smiled back. "Okay!" I cheered. But that dream...the other Thunderstorm was bleeding out, and he said something about a vision...and my brother being torturous to me? What is he talking about? Two Thunderstorms...one is fighting on the other...like fighting himself on a mirror...Ugh, I think my head hurts from thinking too much...

"Thorn? You okay? You spaced out, something bothering you?" Solar asked as his hands are waving in front of my eyes.

I sighed. I guess I have no choice but to tell him, huh...

"I see..." Solar mumbled and nodded. "I didn't know that our visions are connected." He said and sighed.

"Connected? You mean that we have the same dreams too?" I asked in curiosity.

Solar nodded. "I guess I don't hide my secrets anymore, huh..." he mumbled.

He said next to me and pulled out the blanket to wrap himself. "I...dreamt about the future where everything's on fire..." he mumbled.

"D-Do you need a hug?" I asked jut to comfort him.

Solar slowly nodded. Then I cuddled him just to comfort him. "There's more than that..." he muttered.

"I was only watching the city burn...I can't do anything to stop it...then..." he looked down and shivered.'He must be scared...' I wondered to myself. 'Just like me...'

"Don't worry, help is here!" A voice shouted, slammed the door open. I turned around to face the person who shouted.

"Cyclone!" I yelled in surprise.

"Boys," The nurse said, putting his index finger in front of her lips "please minimize your volume, you do know that there's some of the patients here are sleeping, right?" she added.

"Okay." Cyclone and I said in unison quietly.

"Wait. Why is Solar wrapped in a blanket? Did he see something scary?" Cyclone said.

"Uhm, no he—"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." Cyclone blurted. "I told you to stop watching horror movies on the attic alone, Solar."

"I'm not." I looked at Solar and noticed that he's all wrapped in a blanket; even his face is covered too.

"Is Thunderstorm here?" A voice said.

"Quake!" Cyclone said in surprise.

"O-Oh." Quake said. He looked at the other patient that I can't see because the white curtains blocked the view then he looked at me. "I guess you two are in the same room, huh..." he added.

Wait—

"You mean by Thunderstorm, right?" Cyclone guessed.

Quake nodded. "And why is Solar wrapped himself in a blanket?" he asked.

"He's watching too much horror movies." Cyclone said. Then he walked towards the curtain and slides it to the right...his right.

I peered across the room to see Thunderstorm sitting on the bed while his eyes are wrapper in bandages.

"T-Thunderstorm?" Cyclone called. "A-are you Okay..?"

There was no answer. No reply. But there's only a slow nod coming from him. Wait, he's awake this whole time? Quake went to him and brushed his hair.

"It's a good thing that you're still alive, Thunderstorm." Quake said in a quiet voice. "I can't take it anymore..." Then he hugs him with comfort and silently cries. "For God's sake what did you do from the last hour? I'm so worried!" he wailed.

 **(Eyyy— I don't ship them~ XDD)**

"Same here. Geez, you're giving me a heart attack, idiot." Cyclone said, crossing his arms and let out a sigh then hugs him.

I smiled for a bit and frowned. Why did this happen? I hope this isn't gonna turned out worse...

 **Worse...**

 _ **'Kill me now you megalomaniac!**_ '

Solar quickly unwrapped himself and ran towards the door, leaving it open. Wait, what was that? Did he have the same thought as mine?

"Nurse, I—" Then I looked across the room but the nurse wasn't there already. Maybe she left without any announcement? I get off the bed and went to the door to close it but I stopped and peeked when I heard a weeping noise coming from outside this room.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" Blaze yelled at him. "You know killing isn't the only option to make yourself 'happy' right?!" he added as he surrounded with his flaming aura.

"I...can't handle it anymore Blaze..." Ice wept. "I'm cowardice...I can't accept myself as a hero...I'm too—"

"I swear to hell..." Blaze mumbled. Then he quickly grabbed Ice by his collar and faced him eye to eye. "If you're gonna say that again I will never, EVER, call you 'brother' again. SO STOP SAYING TO YOURSELF THAT YOUR USELESS!" he shouted as tears streaming down his cheeks.

 _ **'I'll never recognize you as my 'brother' again...'**_

There it is again. That thought...why does it have to be me? Am I the only one who has these thoughts? Wait, Solar does this thought too but, this never happened to us for a long time...

"Bro, you're starring at the nothingness for 3 minutes, stop that." Blaze looked at me with a serious expression.

3 minutes? Ah geez I gotta stop thinking about that thing, that isn't like me.

 _ **That isn't like me.**_

"I-I'm sorry..." I apologized.

"It's okay." Blaze said. "And its okay if you heard us, I'm used to it."

"Oh..." I mumbled.

"Alright what's going on? And why are you both crying?" I quickly looked behind me and saw Quake crossing his arms.

"N-nothing...just...arguing about this and that." Blaze muttered.

"I see, if you two didn't make out yet, both of you are gonna be grounded, two weeks." Quake demanded.

"A-alright..." Blaze squeaked, making his aura fade.

"Thorn, where's the nurse? Did she leave?" Quake questioned and looked at me.

"I dunno." I said and shrugged.

"Oh geez, looks like we're gonna take care of this situation by ourselves I guess..." he said, scratching his cheeks lightly and went back inside the room.

"Hey guys?" I asked as both of them looked at me in unison. "Do you know where Solar went?"

"He's in the bathroom but he said he wanted some space..." Blaze replied.

Ice quickly stood up and went inside the room, bumping his shoulders to mine lightly. "Is Thunderstorm okay?" Ice asked to the others.

Blaze sat down and looked at the ceiling, mumbling.

"Queen of hearts, she made some tarts,  
All on a hot summer's day.  
The knave of hearts, he stole those tarts,"

Wait...isn't this line from the story he wanted to read? The story 'Alice in the Wonderland'?

"The Queen said—"

"Off with your head!" Both of us said in unison, but he has more dramatic expression than mine.

"Gee, Blaze, I never thought that you remember those lines." I said as I sat beside him.

"No, I didn't, I just know that line from my dreams." He said. "And man, that dream was gruesome...I never thought that Solar can be psychotic as that megalomaniac square headed alien."

"Wait, Solar?" I questioned. "You mean to say that in your dreams, Solar is the killer?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what I saw in my dreams...well to be honest, I only see a blurry figure holding a dagger stained with blood, people chorusing the phrase about the Queen of hearts and plus, the clothes are somewhat white so my guess is Solar." he said.

"Solar's not a killer, Blaze. Please don't jump into conclusions without thinking that there are more people out there wearing white clothes..." I said quietly.

"Uh, I only guess it, duh." Blaze said as his eye rolled. "Come on, don't be a cowardice. I'm sure that he isn't gonna turn away from us, right?"

"Yeah...s-sure" I mumbled. Solar...a killer? I don't think so...but—

 _'I was watching the city drowning in fire...I can't do anything to save them...'_

 _'You've seen too much, I didn't know that you're brother was torturous to see you this...'_ _  
_  
 _'You want a happy ending where none of us exist...'_ _  
_  
 _'Off with your head..!'_ _  
_  
Did...

Did these dreams have a connection to something..? Somewhere..?

 _ **...Someone**_?


	5. Blaze

"Hey, psst, Blaze..." A buzz of the voice was heard.

"Mm..." I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. "What?"

"Can you do me a favour, just for this day, please?" A robotic voice asked. I turned my head to see the sphere shaped robot that was floating. Ochobot.

"What favour?" I asked and sat on my bed, yawning.

"Uhm, if you have free time today, would you like to help us at the shop this morning?" Ochobot asked kindly.

Well, I do have free time today to play soccer with my friends...ah never mind about that, it's better if I help them. "Yep." I said and nodded.

"You will? Thanks a lot, Blaze!" he said and went downstairs.

'Ugh, here we go again, I thought. Painkillers, here I come. Seriously though, why me? If I were hired a job that kills me so much, I'll be in prison by now because I'll send all of them to Hell. But since some of the costumers are kind, I can't. _**  
**_  
"Ice?"

There was no response...except for the wind that blew from the window of course.

"Hey, Ice."

There was no respond again.

"Sloth!"

Well I had no other choice but to call you that, sleepyhead! Ah geez, still no response from me huh...

That's it.

I pulled his blanket and lo and behold, it was just a pillow. A pillow. Well, this is embarrassing—

"Blaze?"

I startled at the sound of the door creaking and a voice of a boy calling my name. I quickly looked at the door. It was Solar.

"Y-Yes?" I answered.

Solar sat down beside me, holding a red gem. "Can you go to the library with me? I mean, I know you're not interested but I'm all by myself reading there for hours..."

I sighed. "Sorry Solar, I gotta help Ochobot at the shop today."

"Oh." Solar said, standing up.

"Well, how about Thorn?" I asked. "D-Did you two get involved in a fight or an argument?"

"What?" Solar said in surprise. "N-No, never! He's just sleeping, that's all. It'll be rude of me to wake him up just to ask him if he could come with me."

"Well, you said that you wanted to have a partner to go there, right?" I said as I took the gem and looked every side of it. It was pretty though...and mesmerizing—

Solar sighed. "Yes..."

"Well..?" I said and returning the gem back to Solar.

 _That's funny; he didn't even know I took it._

Solar grunted. "Fine, I'll do it. And uh, thanks, Blaze." he said and left in my room.

...Weird, I didn't even help him. Or I helped him to be a little rude in front of Thorn. Ugh, now my heard hurts.

I got to take a break from making myself...stressful enough to burn this house and making me insane.

Maybe reading books will be relaxing.

I got up and stretched my arms, walking towards the mini book shelf besides the closet. Closet...I gotta change my clothes. I looked at the books again. Which one..? Eh, choosing a book is just a cake, I'll just change my clothes later.

Then I reached at the mini book shelf since its way over the top than my height.

Just a little more...

Almost there...

Come on—

"Somebody once told me—"

"Sugar honey ice tea!" I yelped and lose my balance. I quickly grabbed the edge of the bookshelf to regain it but I was startled...and panicking..? But my weight is too heavy for this to handle...which means...

I looked up and sheepishly smiled as the bookshelf was starting to lose it's...balance..? (gahd dang it I can't really express it.) And the books fell down...and I fell down. Okay, how can this day get any worse?!

"Ah geez...Thorn don't scare me like that!" I exclaimed.

He laughed sheepishly "Sorry, I thought that you're asleep." he said and picked the books that fell down.

"And now I'm wide awake as hell...geez you almost making me died from a heart attack." I commented.

He looked at me and smiled "At least you didn't die." he said.

 _...What the..? Since when did Thorn have an interest about life and death...and stuff..?_

I stared at him and crossed my arms, hummed lowly.

"Um, something wrong Blaze?" he asked.

I shook my head lightly and looked at the window "N-nothing." I mumbled.

 _Something is wrong..._

He sighed and gave me the books "Here."

I looked at him then at the books. "Put them all in the shelves." I demanded.

"Alright!" he said, giving me a salute. I watched him arranging the books...but something doesn't feel right.

"Why did you pick these books, Blaze? Did Ice read you a book to help you rest?" he looked at me and teased.

"Oh shut up, I was just looking for a story where a girl fell on a rabbit hole, that's all..." I looked away and blushed in embarrassment.

"A girl fell down a rabbit hole..." he wondered to himself."Oh! You mean Alice in the Wonderland, right?" he said.

"Yeah, that." I replied. "I was looking for that story to lessen up my boredom..."

"What boredom? Are you gonna stay here for the whole day?" he asked in curiosity.

"Uh no, I'm gonna help at the shop today, and oh boy it's gonna be so frustrating..." I hesitated.

"Aw, what do you mean 'frustrating' of course it'll be fun!" I beamed.

"Fun? You think that some costumers arguing over one damn thing can be fun?" I questioned him as he looked at me.

"Uhm...well..." he mumbled.

I sighed in exhaustion. "It's gonna be stressful I tell ya, and I hate it, really." I grumbled. "And you do know what I'll do when I get stress, right?"

"Yeah...?" he said sheepishly.

"I could bring hell in here, Thorn." I looked at him with an eerie stare.

He gulped and widened his eyes with fear.

Then I punched his arm lightly. "Aw don't be scared, bro, I'm just kidding." I said and winked.

"Whelp, I gotta get going." He said as he left at his bedroom...Ice and Blaze's bedroom. 

{-}

Great, another day for this...stressing job I'm doing right now. Oh wait. I was just sitting here all day doing nothing! Why am I even here in the first place when all I have to do here is sit? Next time, Ochobot, pick a better party—

"Blaze?"

I looked up and see Quake serving me a Hot Cocoa.

I blinked then turned away. "I know, I know. I'm such a lazy ass, wouldn't I?" I muttered.

"No you're not. And also, mind your language please." Quake said, in a firm voice.

How kind of you, dear brother, you always act like one of our parents. Parents...

"Is there something wrong, Blaze?" Quake asked.

I just realised that I was dragging myself into my sub consciousness...Well, back to the matter of hand...

"No, nothing's wrong...I'm just bored...that's all."

Quake raised an eyebrow. That face...that ' _I know you're lying because you don't want us to worry about you so much'_ face. Well, I can't ignore that, can't I?

I sighed. "Alright. I was just thinking about myself that I'll be handling things easier from now on. Like, uh, you know, acting like Ice?"

"Oh." Quake said, with a little, surprised expression. "Well, that's new to me."

 _ **Yeah, yeah. 'New'. I don't want to be new, I want to be myself. I don't want to change. Why am I so afraid of 'change'?**_

Shut it. It's just for a while, that's all.

"I know..." I grunted.

"Well, why don't you just sit under the tree over there and read that...book?" Quake suggested and pointed his index finger at the tree with a bench.

 _ **Well, that bench looks relaxing, shall we go?**_

You don't have to tell me twice _._

"Thanks Quake." I stood up and ran towards the tree and sat on the bench. Now this is relaxing. Hmm, now that I think about it, I'm acting like Ice today.

 _ **I thought I'm not gonna try to change myself**_

I got to stop thinking deep enough to speak to you in my thoughts... _inner thoughts._

Well, if I want to get rid of you, I'm just gonna read this book.

{-}

As I delve into the land of fantasies, I felt that my eyes are heavy. I'm not even that sleepy. But the bench...it's so warm and comfortable.

I have no other choice but to sleep. I just had to hope that I'll wake up soon because of course; they'll leave me sleeping here.

{-}

White surroundings fell silent. I was inside of it, standing, doing nothing. I peered across the white limbo, finding if I'm not alone.

"Hello?" I shouted.

And so did the echoes.

What is this place?

"You seem to be lost." A voice echoed.

"Who are you?" I asked.

A figure stood in front of me, his clothes are all white and his eyes are shining bright gold. His appearance resembled...Solar.

"Your friend, of course." The figure said and warmly smiled at me.

"Where are we?" I asked.

The figure giggled. I don't know whether it's a voice of a boy or girl...

"We're at the park, silly~"

The noise of people chattering each other was heard, a warm sunlight was touching my hands, and a small breeze was brushing my hair.

"Why am I here..?" I asked again.

The figure looked at me and frowned. "Well, I am so lonely...all by myself walking at the pathways and nobody to talk to."

"O-Oh..." I said and crossed my arms. _This is gonna be boring._ "Well, I didn't come here to say 'no' now, would I?"

"Wait, you wanted to talk to me this whole time?!" The figure held both of my hands and jumped happily.

"Uhm..." I looked away, think of a word to say to the figure. _I mean—_

" _ **This is all just a dream, right?**_ " The figure said with a serious tone.

The hand that was used to touch mine turned into a rusty chain. All of the people are gone. I am surrounded with...black. All black.

 **Nothing.**

The noise of the people chattering became louder and louder and then...

" _ **Queen of hearts, she made some tarts,**_ _ **  
**_ _ **All on a hot summer's day."**_

They chorused.

Make it stop, **MAKE IT STOP-**

 _ ****_ _ **"The knave of hearts, he stole those tarts**_  
 _ **The Queen said**_ ,"

 _Off with your head~_ The figure stood in front of me, giggling. _  
_  
 **SLASH**

{-}

I woke up with a jerk, thinking about the 'dream' I had. What was that?

 _ **A dream —no, a nightmare or maybe, a vision.**_

Ugh, shut it, brain. Dreams are supposed to be...dreams..? Are you serious about that? He wouldn't kill me. He wouldn't. Then again, it was just an imposter, after all. But there's no way that my dream could be real.

-Maybe. Dreams are nothing but an imaginative scene that comes up from your mind. When your dreams cane true, that's called a vision. But that...nightmare you're having, that must be a vision.-

A vision, huh. Wait, I can't shut you off no matter how many times I tried, I think. Who are you?

 _ **...You touched the ruby, didn't you?**_

Ruby? You mean the one that Solar held this morning?

 _ **Yes, that ruby.**_

And what does it have to do with you?

 _ **You've awaken your deepest thoughts when you touch that ruby. So that means, we're one in the same.**_

And that also means that I'm crazy.

 _ **You've been staring at the nothingness for too long.**_ _ **  
**_  
I shook my head. Yeah, maybe you're right.

 _ **...**_ _ **  
**_  
Oh, he's gone.

"Blaze!" A voice called.

"What?" I mumbled, getting up from my sleep.

"We've got to get to the hospital, now!" Quake said and ran, leaving me behind.

-What are you waiting for? Get your ass up and go!-

Ah shit, you're still there.

 _ **There's no time for waste, idiot!**_ _ **  
**_  
Ah geez, I got it!

Then suddenly, someone grabbed my hand and pulled my out of the bench unbalanced.

I noticed his aqua colour swirls on his jacket and the bill of his cap facing at the left side of his head.

Cyclone.

"H-Hey! I can run by myself, you know!" I said. Wait, am I being rude to him when I said that?

"There's no time for that, something's wrong with Thunderstorm!" He replied with a broken voice.

What the hell happened...?

"What happened to him?" I asked, catching up to Cyclone.

"I don't know! He...he —Solar...he said that Thunderstorm's eyes are bleeding...a-and...I...I don't know what to do...I felt something wrong after that..." Cyclone said, whimpering and stopped his tracks.

I sighed and went to him, brushing his hair. "Calm down, everything's gonna be alright."

Now you made Cyclone worried, Thunderstorm.

Cyclone looked at me and nodded. "O-Okay..."

...Now you made me worried.

"Come on, there's no time for crying. That's not gonna help Thunderstorm from recovering his injury." I said.

"Alright..." Cyclone said, smiling at me.

"That's the spirit." I said giving him thumbs up.

Just trying to cheer him up might lift this atmosphere.

{-}

It's almost night time, and I'm just sitting outside looking at the sky as the dark blanked began to cover the light. I don't want to go inside, maybe I'll see a broken Thunderstorm, injured so badly.

Did he somewhat involved in a fight? I don't think so. Thunderstorm's not like me, it'll take more than an insult to snap the crap out of him. And plus, in a library? No, he has respect at a place like that. Gah, I want answers!

I stood up and took a deep breath. Maybe I'll just ask Quake and Cyclone.

I went inside and noticed that this place is...silent. Weird. I thought there are some patients sitting here or some people speaking with a nurse.

" _ **This way."**_

I stopped and looked at the left side of the hall. I saw a figure walking far away from me, like it leads me to where they are.

I shivered as I approached the figure. It feels like the time stopped. Is something...weird about you..?

"E-Excuse me, but, where are we going..?" I asked kindly.

The figure did not respond. It just keeps on walking.

Walking...walking till the room's gotten darker.

"Hey, if you don't want to answer my question before, I'll burn you." I said, putting my finger on the figure's shoulders.

" _ **B-**_ _B_ laze..?" A voice whimpered in fear.

The room suddenly lit up again. The figure that stood in front of me...was gone. The person who's standing in front of me was Ice now. He looked at me with fear. He was shaking. He was somewhat holding a gem...a red one.

"Ice, come back to your senses! What happened?" I said, gripping both of his shoulders.

"Blaze...I...I don't know what's going on!" He stuttered. He smashed the gem on the ground and the noise echoed throughout the hallway.

"Pull yourself together, idiot!" I yelled at him.

"Blaze..." he looked at me, his eyes are widened with fear and tears are streaming down from his cheeks. "I...I need some fresh air—"

I suddenly gripped his hands from escaping.

"Blaze...please, that hurts." He pleaded. He grappled his arm to break free.

I only glared at him.

 **I want answers.**

"Explain, now" I whispered to him. ",before I'll break your arm."

He gulped and sighed with defeat. He sat down on a chair and looked up on the ceiling, staring at it. It was weird for me to see him like this for the first or in a rare time..? That doesn't matter right now, all that matters is that what happened to him and why did he suddenly become...that.

I sat down beside him. "Look, I'm really sorry for what I did earlier. You suddenly freaked out for no reason...u-unless it has one." I sighed and looked at him for a moment. He was rubbing his bruised arm. Did I take that a bit too far..?

"Look, I don't really know what caused you that, bro. Just tell me what happened." I said.

"I'm...starting to get hallucinations."

I widened my eyes. "What do you mean?" I asked with fear.

"Maybe it's because I've been so useless since our last fight..? No..." Ice croaked, but no matter how low his voice is, I can still hear them loud as clear. He picked the gem and stared at it. "It's because of you..."

I widened my eyes. Who was he talking to?

Then a sound of a door that was opened forcefully was heard.

"I need some space, please." Then I realized that it was Solar running through the hall.

"S-sure..." I mumbled.

 _ **Focus, Blaze. Your brother needs you.**_

"Uhm, Ice? Are you referring to me or the gem..?" I questioned.

Ice didn't answer; he just stared in the gem he's holding.

The gem glowed violently, but Ice is still staring at it.

 _ **Mesmerizing...**_

I quickly took the gem away from him.

It's still glowing...why can't it sto—

" _ **Make it stop...I can't take it...I've been hearing voices in my head, telling me to end this game...it feels like I'm losing my mind..."**_

Those are the voices...from the gem itself. After that, the gem's light is slowing fading, and the cracks are seen. I stood up, glaring at him even though he's staring at the tiles.

"Just what do you think you're doing?!" I yelled at him. "You know killing isn't the only option to make yourself 'happy' right?!" I added as my flaming aura starts to dance around me.

"I...can't handle it anymore Blaze..." he wept."I'm cowardice...I can't accept myself as a hero...I'm too—"

"I swear to hell..." I mumbled. I quickly grabbed Ice by his collar and faced him eye to eye. "If you're gonna say that again I will never, EVER, call you 'brother' again. SO STOP SAYING TO YOURSELF THAT YOUR USELESS!" he shouted as tears streaming down his cheeks.

 _ **Blaze, watch your tone.**_

I peered across the room to see if someone's looking at us. But I only saw Thorn staring at...nothing..?

 _ **What's going on..?**_

"Bro, you're starring at the nothingness for 3 minutes, stop that." Blaze looked at me with a serious expression.

"I-I'm sorry..." Thorn apologized.

"It's okay." I said. "And its okay if you heard us, I'm used to it."

"Oh..." he mumbled.

"Alright what's going on? And why are you both crying?" I looked at Quake, crossing his arms with a serious look.

"N-nothing...just...arguing about this and that." I muttered.

"I see, if you two didn't make out yet, both of you are gonna be grounded, two weeks." Quake demanded.

"A-alright..." I squeaked, making my aura fade.

"Thorn, where's the nurse? Did she leave?" Quake questioned and looked at him.

"I dunno." he said and shrugged.

"Oh geez, looks like we're gonna take care of this situation by ourselves I guess..." Quake said, scratching his cheeks lightly and went back inside the room.

"Hey guys?" he asked as we turned our heads to him in unison. "Do you know where Solar went?"

"He's in the bathroom but he said he wanted some space..." I replied.

Ice quickly stood up and bumping his shoulders to mine lightly. Then went inside the room, probably he wants to see Thunderstorm.

I sat down and looked at the ceiling, mumbling.

"Queen of hearts, she made some tarts,  
All on a hot summer's day.  
The knave of hearts, he stole those tarts,"

"The Queen said—"

"Off with your head!" Both of us said in unison.

"Gee, Blaze, I never thought that you remember those lines." he said and sat beside me.

"No, I didn't, I just know that line from my dreams." I said. "And man, that dream was gruesome...I never thought that Solar can be psychotic as that megalomaniac square headed alien." _Wait, did I say Solar?_

"Wait. Solar?" he questioned. "You mean to say that in your dreams, Solar is the killer?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what I saw in my dreams...well to be honest, I only see a blurry figure holding a dagger stained with blood, people chorusing the phrase about the Queen of hearts and plus, the clothes of the figure are somewhat white so my guess is Solar." I said.

"Solar's not a killer, Blaze. Please don't jump into conclusions without thinking that there are more people out there wearing white clothes..." he said quietly.

"Uh, I only guess it, duh." I said and rolled my eyes. "Come on, don't be a coward. I'm sure that he isn't gonna turn away from us, right?"

"Yeah...s-sure" he mumbled. "Aren't you gonna see Thunderstorm..?"

I looked at him for a moment. Seeing my brother like this made me mad...and I want to punch the person who did this!

 _ **How about burning them to ashes?**_

Hmm...I could do that.

"Blaze."

"Huh?" I blinked my eyes.

"Your aura is back again..." he shuddered in fear.

What the..? Okay, I know you made this happen!

 _ **Who? Me? Oh, you got to be serious—**_

I know you made this! Explain, now!

 _ **Calm down, I don't want your younger brother to be burned by your madness~**_

...Fine, I'll just accept that it's my fault...

"Sorry for spacing out...I'm just not ready if I can see Thunderstorm like this." I confessed.

"Well, from the looks of it, he's blind. He got injured by the eye, both of them." he said...more like mumbling.

And that means he can't see...what's going on..? First I get this weird dream, and second is this?

 _ **It has begun.**_

...What?

 _ **...**_

Hello..?

"Blaze!"

I yelped and fell on the floor. "Oh geez..."

"Are you sure you're alright? You seemed...off today." Thorn asked.

I stood up and shook my head lightly. "Y-Yeah...I guess so."

"Oh dear, are you alright?" A soft voice said behind me. I turned around, it was a nurse.

"Be careful when you're walking in these halls, okay?" She said with a smile. "Anyways, I have to check on your brother to see if he's okay." Then she walked inside the room.

That's odd, how come she knows that I am his brother?

 _ **Uh, you do know that you all look the same, right?**_

I know that!

 _ **Just admit that you're dumb as them.**_

Uh, no thank you.

"I'm heading back inside the room, are you sure you're gonna stay here?" he asked.

"Yep." I said casually.

"Okay then..." he said and walked inside the room.

 _ **I know that you don't care a single thing about your brother being blind. Because being blind is normal for you.**_

I have feelings, you know! And besides, you don't know a single thing about me!

 _ **I am your inner thoughts. I am your shadow. I am you.**_

I don't believe a word you're saying.

"Knock, knock." A voice said, knocking on a door that is already wide open. "It's Quake, are you feeling alright? Thorn said that you're spacing out when you two talked. Are you tired?"

Maybe I'm tired, that's all.

"Maybe..." I said unsurely, looking at him. He was standing at the door, still cross armed.

"Is that a yes or a no? Be clear with me." Quake said. Sheesh, I know he's the oldest around here but I didn't know that he can act like a strict parent!

"Okay fine, I'm feeling tired. There, better?" I said and sighed with defeat.

Quake sighed. "Sorry, did I worry too much?" he asked in a soft voice.

"No, no, you weren't." I muttered.

"Pardon?" Quake asked.

"I said—"

"Just hold my hand because I'll be the one who'll lead your way, okay?" A soft but cheerful voice said.

It was Cyclone holding hands with the blinded Thunderstorm. His eyes were covered in thin, white cloth. Beside them was the nurse holding some of the remains of the cloth they use. The nurse walked towards me and gives me the cloth.

"Better take care of your older brother, okay?" She said and pats my head lightly. _She seemed way too nice..._

"Are you feeling better now, Thunderstorm? I know it's a bit hard for you since your blind..." Quake said, facing at Thunderstorm with a worried expression.

"I-I'm fine, no need to worry, Quake." Thunderstorm replied in a soft voice.

Quake looked at me for a moment and back at Thunderstorm. "Well, if you say so."

"Now, now, let's head back home, shall we?" Cyclone said in a cheery voice, probably just to lighten this atmosphere.

"Oh." Ice yawned. "Sure."

"I bet Ochobot and Granddad are gonna be worried sick." Thorn said in a soft tone.

 _ **Don't worry, I'll be the one who will take care of them~**_

"Right. Come on." I said, leading the way to the exit. _Just ignore these thoughts, Blaze..._

{-}

"We're back!" Thorn and Cyclone said in unison with their energetic voice while Ice and Quake said it with exhaustion.

Ice yawned. "Finally, I can get some rest."

 **(My reaction when I finished this chapter)**

"Same." Quake said, walking upstairs. "Goodnight everyone, and be sure to sleep early before 10 pm." he added and closed his bedroom door.

"Come on Hali, let's get to bed. I don't want to hear an angry Quake first thing in the morning." he said and giggled, walking upstairs.

Ice followed them and walked upstairs tiredly.

I shrugged and carried Ice, although he's heavy. When I saw his face, he closed his eyes and sleep peacefully. I smiled at him on how childish and cute he is when he's sleeping. I slowly opened the door and put Ice to bed. I closed the door and threw myself in my bed, sighing with exhaustion.

"I hope nothing bad will happen tomorrow..." I muttered, looking at the ceiling.

" **I hope not~"** A figure said, pinning both of my arms with his feet.

"What the—?!"

The figure raises his hand that holds a dagger then—

 **SLASH**


	6. Earthquake

AN: I just realized that Chap. 3 and 4 are **rushed** in writing...It's because I was busy at the time. Sorry.

Okay so remind you all that I'm really not good at writing/expressing some scenes and if you want to read this story so much (even tho it's cringy 4 me) then many thanks, you really are my inspiration on keeping this story ongoing ^w^

Update 1: I'm disabling myself from the internet for a moment cuz…reasons.

Update 2: My keyboard's typing random symbols and idk wth happened

Update 3: I'm restoring my PC (I stored this chapter in my Gmail acc. So yeah, only this chapter is saved XD) and my keyboard works well sometimes…and now I'm using an on-screen keyboard which is a tortuous ease of access— well, as long as I continue this story.

* * *

I woke up by the sound of someone screaming. I hurriedly get up from my sleep and opened the door by force. I quickly ran to Blaze's room and slammed the door open. I flicked the light on to see what happened.

"Blaze! Are you okay?!" I shouted worriedly.

Blaze looked at me with wide eyes and breathed heavily. He was bleeding in his right eye and I just realized that he released his fire aura...which means...

I peered across the room to see if something's burning. That's odd, there's not even a single thing burning, or a smoke is coming from a burning object. That means that Blaze is activating it just now.

"Quake, watch out!" Blaze shouted and pushed me away as a dagger was aiming at me.

"Ack!" Blaze yelped in pain. I quickly covered my mouth as he was stabbed by his right arm. _I'm so sorry Blaze..._

I slowly looked at the figure who threw the dagger. It was...

Ice..?

"Quake, I don't know what's gotten into Ice right now but you got to stop him!" Blaze cautioned.

"Don't talk you moron! You'll make your injury worse!" I yelled. _What am I saying?! I can't talk to him like that!_

"I guess there's no other way, huh." I muttered and punched the ground and my hands were covered by layers of rocks. Then it formed as a gauntlet. The ground lightly shook as the rocks appeared out of nowhere and surrounded Ice, making a trap so that he couldn't escape.

A snapped from Blaze's fingers ignited Ice's body.

"Blaze! What are you doing?!" I yelled. _Has my brother gone too far?!_

"I just realized something." Blaze took a deep breath. "That is not the real Ice!"

"What do you mean 'that's not real'?! It clearly has the whole details about Ice!"

"Look at your back, he's sleeping."

I peered at the back of my view. Blaze is right; he was sleeping peacefully even though we're yelling here. But how come there's a replica of him here..? Strange...and why did it attack Blaze at night..?

"Quake, look!" Blaze tapped my shoulder lightly and turned my head as he pointed his finger at 'Ice'. The replica of him was surrounded with red, glitch-like pixel particles scattered throughout his body. Then it slowly disappears like a figure fading in the background, glitching.

"What the hell was that..?" Blaze muttered.

"What's going on?!"

Blaze and I looked at the person at the door, exclaiming worriedly. It was Thunderstorm and behind him was a tired Cyclone who seemed to rub his eyes and yawned.

"...I'm sorry if I caused too much noise..." Blaze apologized and pulled out the dagger in his right arm. "Ouch." He muttered.

 _I failed to protect him...I'm so sorry..._

"Um...Quake? Why are you crying?" Blaze asked.

"D-Did I..?" I wiped away the tears rolling down in my cheeks. "I guess I did." I closed my eyes as more tears are streaming down. "I'm so sorry! I failed to protect you!" I apologized.

Blaze looked at me for a moment and widened his eyes with surprise. He smiled faintly "Bro, it's okay. It was my fault that I got careless."

"Quake, don't take the blame for yourself, please. We have our own responsibilities." Thunderstorm said.

I chuckled. "And that's where you're sometimes wrong, Thunderstorm. We're in a...serious situation and we're talking about responsibilities..? We're family here, remember..?"

Thunderstorm replied nothing except forming his mouth like a small 'o'. He must be surprised about my words there...

"Alright everyone, let's get back to bed now." I said quietly, trying not to wake Ice up.

Thunderstorm nodded and looked at Cyclone. "Sorry for waking you up, Cyclone." he apologized.

Cyclone yawned and nodded slowly. "Yeah, yeah...now can we get some actual rest here?" he mumbled.

"Sure, now lead the way, sleepyhead." Thunderstorm said.

He didn't even know what's happening. The three of them –no, 4 of them didn't even realized that we're being attacked. I looked at my watch; it was 12:30 in the midnight. I yawned, and so does Blaze.

"Come on, bro, let's get you some bandages to stop the blood flowing." I said, carrying Blaze by the shoulders. _But how can I stop his bleeding, especially his right arm..?_

"Okay." Blaze mutters. He looked upset. He didn't seem to be happy about it either.

I sighed. "Sorry, Blaze, I...I didn't know what's going on...All I ever think was to protect you but I—"

"I told you, it wasn't your fault." Blaze cut off in mid-sentence. "That fire aura you're seeing...I didn't even make a spark because it was resembled as **him.** I'm not a killer, especially if it comes to you guys..."

"I know that." I chuckled and smiled at him faintly. "Come on; let's head to the living room."

He nodded. Although his injuries are in his face and arm, he's still walking slowly.

 **{-}**

I laid Blaze in a sofa, putting both of his arms in his chest to prevent some blood dripping on the floor. "I'll be right back." I said and went to the kitchen to find the kit. I didn't even realize that it's dark to see. _Well, that was embarrassing..._

I flicked the light switch on. It was bright. It feels like it's the first time you've stepped outside on a sunny day. Heh...sunny...wait. _Where's Solar?_

I looked at every cabinet. _Maybe he's just in his room? Did he even come home early?_ I sighed. _What a terrible brother I am..._

 _We'll look for him in the morning, I guess..._

I looked at the last cabinet and there I found the first-aid kit. I grabbed it and went back to the living room.

I took a deep breath. _This is the first time I've handled this kind of situation, just stay calm, Quake._ I turned on the lights in the living room. I swear I heard Blaze hissing as the light has somewhat blinded him for a second.

"Quake..." Blaze said with a weak voice.

"Yes?" I answered with a slight panicked voice.

"The light...its mere existence is blinding me..." He said dramatically.

"...Seriously?"

Blaze looked at me. "Aw come on, Big Bro, I'm just trying to lighten up the mood." he said, smiling.

I smiled back. "Right." I went to him and kneeled to check his wounded arm. "Well, All I have to do is to stop the bleeding, is it fine with you?"

Blaze nodded.

"Thorn and Yaya will take care of the rest. I-Is that—"

"All's fine with me, Quake. As long as I'm still breathing air 24/7, I'll be just fine." he said.

"A-Alright, I'll contact her tomorrow." I said as I started to clean his arm and wrapped a white thin cloth around it, not too tight or light, just right. _Heh, that rhymes._

"Now for the eye." I said and picked a black, thin cloth and wrapped it in Blaze's face, covering his right eye. "Blaze, is it okay for you to sleep here?"

"Sure." he nodded.

"Good night, Blaze." I said and kissed his forehead.

He smiled. "Good night, Big Bro."

I yawned and went upstairs to find my room. I looked at my watch and pressed one of the buttons, displaying a holographic message screen.

I texted Yaya, something about getting help from her to heal Blaze's wound. Luckily it didn't stab his wrist.

I covered my mouth. I realized that I was crying again. _Heh, who knows? Maybe if he got stabbed by it, what will I do after that? Will I be blind by rage? Revenge?—_

" **I'm not a killer, especially if it comes to you guys..."**

Blaze is sometimes fuelled up with his anger and blinded himself by his own rage when it comes to battles, same as Thunderstorm. But they're capable to...I don't know, face their inner anger? But what I'm capable of is to take care of them as a role of Big Brother, or being a leader when it comes to missions or some school activities.

I went inside my room and closed the door. I threw myself to my bed. I drifted myself to the reality and dragged myself into the world of dreams...

 _If I can..._

 **{-}**

 **Beep! Beep! Beep! Bee—**

I opened my eyes wide just to hear the alarm clock beeping more than 15 times...every day. I yawned and stretched my arms.

 _Is Blaze okay?_

That's the first thing I thought about besides having the one to work around the house. Well, either Thunderstorm or Solar are gonna help me, but Thunderstorm is already blind. And Solar...where is he..?

Thorn burst slammed the door open, looking surprised. "Quake!"

"Uh, yeah?" _That's weird; Thorn is always the late one to wake up. That's...strange...or maybe..._

 _Please tell me that Blaze is okay!_

"You didn't tell me that I'm gonna help Blaze to heal his wounds! And you didn't even tell me that Blaze is hurting badly! And you didn't tell me that Yaya and Ying will be here today!" Thorn shouted, feels like a bullet train just passed through my eardrums.

"Alright, alright, calm down Thorn." I said as I rose up both of my hands like I was surrendering.

Thorn groaned. "Well, as Yaya said, I'm gonna grow some herbs in the backyard, later big bro!" he said, waving at me.

I looked at him leaving my sight and went downstairs. _So, either Blaze or Yaya woke him up..._

I walked downstairs and saw Blaze sitting on a couch while watching a television.

"There you are Quake!" A girl's voice said.

I yelped and leaned on a wall. I looked behind me and it was Yaya with a worried face.

"Quake, I didn't know that Blaze was stabbed by...some...I don't know! He said it's an exact duplicate of Ice! And you didn't even tell me that Thunderstorm was blind!" Yaya shouted with a worried expression.

"Calm down, Yaya."

"Calm down? Calm down?! You guys are acting _chill_ when this happened! How can we stay calm?!" Ying shouted from the kitchen. I gulped. She must've heard us here.

 _Wait ..."_ Ying? What're you—"

"Hey Ying! What's for breakfast?" Blaze shouted.

"Chicken soup with my secret ingredient!" Ying said.

 _...Okay, what's with everyone shouting today?_

"Secret ingredient? Oh don't tell me it's the spiciness of the food, I hate spicy foods." Yaya groaned and went to the kitchen.

I sat down beside Blaze and asked. "Are you feeling alright now?"

Blaze smiled. "Yep! Although I don't know why my stabbed part isn't deep...this just like an ordinary wound...a wide one, that is."

"What? The wound was deep last night...in my perspective. Did Yaya heal your wounds?"

Blaze nodded his head slowly. "Well, in my stabbed part, yes. But this scratch in my right eye, a bit."

I sighed in relief. "Thank goodness—"

Blaze quickly looked at me and smiled widely. "Hey Quake! I look like a character in a video game that slices and takes their spines off! Isn't it awesome?!"

"Oh right, the one we played last month?" Fang sat down beside me, changing the channels of the TV with the remote.

"What was the game called again?" Blaze looked at him.

 _Wait, Fang is here too? Oh geez, don't tell me the whole gang is he—_

"Hmm...I remember that the character you're playing is a Cyborg ninja who wants to, uh...erase humanity?" Gopal guessed, although that isn't the perfect answer...

I sighed. "A hero who wants to save the weak, I guess. There. Now can you guys please explain me why you guys are here?" I said as I massaged my forehead before it gets worse.

"Well, I was still sleeping until Yaya's my alarm clock...for now. She said something about emergency...mentions you and drags me out of my comfort zone..." Fang sighed and yawned. "And here I am wanting to sleep in this couch 'cause I'm still sleepy." he said and crossed his arms.

"I see..." I looked at Gopal. "How about you? Did Yaya drag you the same as Fang?"

Gopal shook his head. "No. My dad always woke me up early in the morning to do some chores. I was sweeping in the front yard until Yaya quickly grab my arm and drag me to Ying's house. I don't know why Yaya's doing that...until Ying's joining the party. Man, when she explains it, it's like a bullet from a gun that passes through your ears..."

"Breakfast's ready!" Ying yelled from the kitchen.

"Alright!" Fang, Gopal and Blaze said in unison and hurriedly went to the kitchen. _Man, they must be hungry..._

I slightly chuckled and stood up, stretching my arms and turned off the TV.

As I head into the kitchen, Thorn, Ice, Cyclone and Thunderstorm ran towards the room, bumping me.

"Woah...easy now..." I said nervously and chuckled.

As I enter the kitchen. I smiled while looking at my friends and my brothers eating. _If only I had a camera...wait..._

"I-I have to go elsewhere everyone!" I said and ran outside. _Shoot, I forgot about Solar! Even Ochobot and Granddad! Where are they?!_

I ran through the streets to find if Solar's in the library or in the hospital.

 **{-}**

"No, I haven't seen a teenager wore a white jacket today. I'm sorry." One of the librarians said.

I sighed and nodded. "It's okay." I opened the door and walked outside.

"Maybe he's in a hospital..?" I wondered and walked to the hospital...even though it takes time...

 **{-}**

"I haven't seen someone who wore that today, but he was here yesterday am I correct?" One of the nurses said.

"Yes. When have you last seen him?" I asked.

"Well, I heard that he's going to the forest where the cacao grows but still, I don't know why he said that to himself, like, did he even know that he's going to look for you today?" The other nurse said.

The other one was shocked. "You've got a point though... half of the building was having some electrical issues so some patients are moving to this side." she pointed at the right hall. "And I thought your brothers are doing some...I don't know, doing some spooky paranormal activities?" She said quietly while her hands are flailing. "But when I stalked you guys, you seemed to be...talking to a ghost or a 'nurse' as you guys called it."

I widened my eyes in surprise. How did I not see this? The electricity was active at that time...something's wrong.

"Thanks for the tip, I really appreciate it!" I waved to the two, kind nurse and ran outside the hospital.

 _Let's see...they said that they heard Solar saying to himself that he's going to the woods where Granddad picked some cacaos...maybe Granddad and Ochobot are there too!_

 **{-}**

 _Finally, I'm...here..._ I huffed and sat on the ground for a while. I panted as I walked for...hours long. Oh no...my friends are gonna be worried about me! Oh geez, I shouldn't have run away without an explanation...then again, they are eating breakfast...

"Hi Quake!"

 _Ugh._ I quickly shielded my eyes from the bright light. _Geez its afternoon and the sun's shining, how can you even use the flashlig-_

"Calm down, Quake. It's me, Solar!" he said and chuckled. I looked at him from above. He's sitting on a branch, swaying both of his legs. _He seems happy seeing me._

 _He seems too happy..._ _No, something's wrong here..._

"Wha- Solar? Is that really you?" I asked in a serious tone.

"Maybe, or maybe not. Who knows~?" Solar said and giggled. He stood up, balancing to avoid himself falling and jumps off, landing on the soft ground perfectly.

I slowly walked away from him. "Where's Solar? What have you done with him?!" I yelled as I got myself in a fighting stance.

Solar laughed. _But this feeling…it's so…eerie. But why am I feeling this with his laugh?_

"Oh, brother, I am Solar!" he said and giggles. He smiled at me creepily.

"I bet that you're looking for them too, brother~"

I took another step backwards and—

 _ **SNAP!**_

 _What the— I can't move!_

"Now, now, brother, I don't think that you'll tell our friends, our brothers that I'm responsible for our Granddad and Ochobot's disappearance, right?" He looked at me with a sinister smile.

The sky's getting darker every time he takes a step towards me.

"So what? Are you gonna kill me now?" I growled quietly.

Solar tilted his head to the left and laughed.

"Oh brother, I'm not here to kill you." he said and giggled.

I looked at him in disgust.

"Then...what do you want from me?" I stuttered in fear. _Why am I feeling...scared right now?_

"Oh, I don't know, tell you guys something, I guess?" Solar said, fixing my vest.

"What kind of 'something'?" I said in a cold tone.

Solar looked at me. "That this world...is an illusion."

 _Wait...that was confusing._

"What do you mean by tha-"

The next thing that happened is Solar was gone, the sky turned back to the way it was and I wasn't in the forest anymore...I was standing in front of my house. _What the heck? Did I just 'teleported' here? Ugh...my head hurts...Whoever that guy is, I'm sure that it's not Solar._

"Quake!" Ying yelled and waved at me from the windows.

I opened the door and went inside, only greeted by the gang's worried faces and my brothers' 'where-have-you-been' faces.

"What happened?" Fang asked.

"N-No, nothing's happened, really—"

"Why are sweating?" Gopal asked.

"U-Uhm, it's hot outside, you know—"

"Why are you looking pale?" Yaya asked.

"I..." I sighed and sat on the couch. "I...I was just looking for Solar, Ochobot and Tok Aba, that's all."

I was waiting for a response but...I looked at their faces. They seemed to be confused.

"W-What?"

"Solar's just here sleeping all day, Quake." Thorn said.

"While Tok Aba and Ochobot are in the shop." Ying continued.

"You sure you're okay, brother? As Yaya said, you look pale, like seeing a ghost or something." Blaze said with a worried face.

 _None of them seemed to believe me, huh. Or this is a cause of some heat stroke?_ I sighed in exhaustion.

"I need some sleep." I stood up and went upstairs. "Oh, and good to see that you're feeling alright, Blaze."

I opened the door to my bedroom and sat for a moment.

 _If they said that Solar is in the bed sleeping, who am I talking to? Don't tell me that I'm just hallucinating his threatening face…and plus, the shop's not even open in Sundays._

 _Wait a minute. Last night I encountered a fake Ice…_

 _And 'Solar' said that this world is an illusion…_

" **Sleep tight, big brother~"**

 _What the-_

"Who's there—"

 _ **Thud—**_

* * *

Again I did not proofread this cuz my head hurts from clicking every letters...sorry about that.


	7. Cyclone

AAAHHHH- Thank you for the reviews! I really appreciated it! Aand I'll try to continue this as fast as I can since next week's...school time. And this will be be the school year I'll graduate. :'D

* * *

 _Looks like Quake needs to rest…but why did he think that they're gone? Is it because he didn't get informed..? Weird…starting from Thunderstorm's accident, things are starting to get weird._

I stretched my arms and sat on the couch. I leaned on Blaze, who seemed to play a game with Fang and Gopal.

"Hey Blaze, is your arm okay? What happened last night anyway?" I looked at Blaze and asked.

"Well, we seemed to encountered a fake Ice last night and attacked me…I…don't know why." He said and pause the game. He putted the controller beside him. And it seemed that Fang and Gopal are on his attention now.

"Wait, fake Ice..? What do you mean by that?" Gopal asked and leaned to the couch.

"It means that he has the same powers, face, and clothes, Gopal. But his personality? I…I'm not so sure about that though. But after I burned that faker to pieces, he started to vanish out of thin air but with a strange aura surrounding him." Blaze explained.

We stared at him for a minute. _Maybe it's a work of a Power Sphere? I'm downright confused._

"Maybe that's a work of a Power Sphere?" Fang questioned in curiosity.

"But how can a Power Sphere exists here? I thought we saved some of them? And also, the Commander or Ochobot is gonna tell us if a Power Sphere is present here." Gopal said.

They started to brainstorm their hypothesis. _I remember that Quake was there…fake Ice…Quake finding Solar…maybe Quake knows this? Hmm…then again he needs some time alone…Nah, I'll just go and ask him._

I stood up and went upstairs. _That's odd, the room's quiet…too quiet._ I checked on Solar and Thorn's room to see if Solar's sleeping. I didn't agree with them that Solar's just sleeping here, it feels so…wrong. Solar's the third person to wake up early and he isn't even tired from yesterday…or some _faker_ attacked him!

"Solar!" I burst the door open and looked at the bed.

 _Solar's…gone..?_

 _What the..? Maybe he's with Quake? Oh geez, I'm panicking!_

I ran outside the bedroom to go to Quake's room.

I burst the door open again. "Qua—"

Thunderstorm covered his lips with his index finger. "He's sleeping, Cyclone." He quietly said.

 _That's odd; I didn't know that Thunderstorm followed him here._

"What'cha doin' here bro? And, uh, have you seen Solar?" I said and stood beside him, seeing Quake sleeping peacefully.

"Oh, I'm just here to ask him to battle with someone. You know, just to have my skills trained while I'm blind. Oh, Solar left and said that he wants to go outside for some fresh air." Thunderstorm said while looking at the window. "If only I could see the stars again…"

I frowned when I heard his voice cracked. Thunderstorm loves to sleep under the stars. There's one time that he pleaded to Granddad that he wants to sleep outside but the words that Granddad's mouth came out is 'no'. Thunderstorm's so sad that he storms out on the kitchen room, until he saw me smirking. Oh how I love the childish attitude he makes rarely. I sometimes saw him looking through the window sighing, hoping that he'll sleep under the stars.

Thunderstorm looked at me and smiled faintly, "Could you describe them for me, Cyclone?"

I bit my lips, trying not to be sad. I took a deep breath. "Y-Yeah…sure."

I opened the window and looked at the night sky. "Well, there are thousands of stars shining like crystals in different sizes; a big, grey cheese is shining too…"

I heard Thunderstorm's snicker. I looked at him and chuckled and looked back at the night sky. "Well, overall, we're like in a cave seeing many glowing crystals with a big, grey cheese hanging at the top." I said and snickered.

Thunderstorm laughs –not too loud because Quake's sleeping. "Can I have a request, brother?"

I closed the window and looked at him. "Sure, what is it?"

Thunderstorm summoned his blade and pointed it at me, which makes me startled all of the sudden. "Would you be my opponent?"

I hanged my mouth open in shock. _Okay firstly, I'm dealing with a battle-maniac here, secondly, why is he choosing me over Blaze? Those two are the best when it comes to battle! And thirdly, why is he aiming his blade at me? It makes me wonder that he wants to kill me right here, right now._

"Uh, Cyclone? Are you still here?" he asked and peered around, although he can't see.

"U-Uh, yeah! Still here bro." I said and rubbed my nape.

"So, are you up for it?" he asked me one more time.

I took a deep breath. _Relax, Cyclone, this is just a practice, no one could get hurt._

"Yup!" I said.

Thunderstorm smiled. "I'll meet you outside, brother." He said and walked out. _Oh wait, he still needs some assistance!_

I walked out from Quake's room and approaches Thunderstorm. "Do you need some help, bro?" I asked.

Thunderstorm shook his head. "No, I can deal with this myself now." He smiled and went downstairs slowly.

"A-Alright…" I said worriedly and went back to Quake's room to sit beside him. "You know, Quake, I sometimes wonder why you accept Thunderstorm's idea that I'll fight him over Blaze…oh wait; he's hurt from the accident last night. He could've chosen you over me…then again—"

A hand gripped my arm. I startled and yelped like a child seeing a nightmare from a carnival. _That was embarrassing…_

"H-Help…" Quake groaned.

"W-What the heck, Quake?! W-Why are you scaring me like that?! Y-You know I'm nervous fighting Thunderstorm!" I stuttered.

Quake groaned in pain. _Wait, is he hurt..?_

"Quake, what happened to you?" I asked with a serious tone.

"G-Get the kit…please…" Quake pleaded.

"Cyclone, are you ready?" Thunderstorm shouted from the outside. _Oh shoot, if I can't go there, he'll be disappointed, but Quake's in pain…wait, is he bleeding? For mercy's sake what should I do first?!_

"Cyclone…" Quake called.

"Y-Yeah..?" I said and gulped. _Please don't get mad at me, please don't get mad at me—_

"Whatever you do, avoid attacking Thunderstorm. I know that you're good at defense, but let me hear you this; he isn't the real Thunderstorm."

My eyes widened. But how..? UGH my head hurts so badly! First Thunderstorm's blind, second is Blaze, third is Quake, and now he's telling me that he's not real?! What's going on?!

"Cyclone, are you forfeiting the battle?" Thunderstorm asked. _Shoot, he's losing patience…_

"Just avoid attacking him, Cyclone, got that?" Quake advised.

"B-But how about—"

"Me?" Quake broke in. "Don't worry, tell Blaze or Thorn to get the kit, got that?"

I took a deep breath. "Yep!" I ran outside the room and went downstairs. I stopped in the living room to talk to Blaze.

"Hey, can you get the kit and aid Quake for me please? I'm having a battle with…'Thunderstorm' here." I whispered, not to annoy the others who're…watching a movie in the TV.

"Wait, is Quake—"

"Hurt? Yeah, he is. Now hurry up before he bleeds to death!" I whispered.

"R-Right." Blaze nodded and went to the kitchen. There goes the same for me, going outside

 _Relax, Cyclone, you can do this. But why is Quake referring to Thunderstorm as fake? Wait a minute…Blaze and Quake encountered fake Ice, then Quake tries to find Solar…maybe the Solar here is fake too?— oof!_

I tripped on a rock, great. And I just realized…that too much thinking can block your sight...

Thunderstorm's laughter can be heard. _How dare you mock me, you faker…_

"Oh my, it seems like you're nervous for this." Thunderstorm said, helping me stand up. "Don't worry; **I won't go easy on you."**

"What?"

A force field surrounds us— no, it's like we're stuck in a dome but, this dome…is sparking with electricity. _I guess Quake's right…he's going to kill me now._

"Now, now, my brother." He demurred. "Don't be scared, I'm not going to kill you, **this dome is!"** he said as he started to slash those electrical blades at me. _Heh, good thing that I'm good at dodging and defense, but there's no good at this situation right now!_

I equipped my hover board and hover meters above Thunderstorm.

He smirked. "Aren't you forgetting something~" he said and gripped his fists, making the dome smaller.

"Ouch!" I yelped as my hand got electrocuted by the dome. I slowly hovered down while activating my shield. It's like a tornado, but smaller, just to protect me.

" **Oh aren't you a coward~** " he mocked. _Ugh…_ I thought in disgust. "You know, I didn't really want to do this, but, **I know what Quake said to you. Me? A faker?"** he laughed as the dome got smaller. " **I know you couldn't believe it but wake up Cyclone, you aren't living in the real world!** " he shouted and crushed me with his dome.

 _D-Damn it…I feel numb…_

"Not a chance!" A fireball hit Thunderstorm's head.

The dome disappeared and I collapsed in the ground. I breathe heavily and I can't see clearly… _I...I feel so numb right now…_

.

 _I feel…the hotness from the flame…_

 _I only see buildings being eaten by the raged flames…_

 _I see…someone approached me…_

 _S-Solar..? No…Thunderstorm..?_

" _ **Welcome to Hell, Cyclone."**_


	8. Vengeance

Thank u for the reviews again everyone! I swear I'll continue this till the very end if I can cuz school's here already XD

* * *

Click. Boring channel. Click. Another boring channel. Ugghh this is so boring! Since the game's already bored, we just kinda quit and just relaxing here watching channels on TV but, ugh, the channels, they're all so borrriiinnnggg!

"Hey, um, Blaze?" Yaya approached me, holding a bowl of soup. "Do you mind if we sleep here since you're, uh, hurt? Y-You really need more assistance, you know."

"We don't mind." Ice insisted.

"It'll be more fun if you guys are here with us!" Thorn said, bouncing happily.

"Oh bother…" I said and face palmed, I looked at Yaya. "Sure, you guys can stay."

The gang cheered happily. Heh, this is the first time we did this…sleepover.

 _ **Uh, you should approach Cyclone or Earthquake for permission either they'll stay of nah.**_

 _Wha- you're still here inside my head?_

 _ **It's not like I can disappear in thin air, dumbass.**_

 _I'm not a dumbass!_

"Hey, I bought some DVDs to watch, wanna see some thrilling movies with explosions?" Fang said, his eyes are sparkled and smiled excitedly.

I laughed nervously. Seriously though, seeing Fang with this facial expression gives me the creeps. "S-Sure…w-why not." Yep. He's giving me the creeps alright.

"Yes!" he shouted and quickly putted the disk to the DVD player and sat down beside me. **(A.N: I forgot the device is called XD)**

"He seems too happy." Ying said and chuckled. She was going to sit down on the floor but-

"Um, Ying, you can sit here." I stood up and patted the part where I sat down.

"E-Eh? Aiya, how about you? You're condition is still not good, right?" Ying said and stood up, crossing her arms.

"W-well…" I waved my hand –which has the injured one- to her as a sign of 'feeling better'. "See? I'm feline fine!"

Ying groaned lowly. "Alright, I can trust ya." She said and shrugged and sat down on the couch beside Fang.

As the movie started, things are just…heating up so quickly. Many explosions and gunshot everywhere, I mean, who does that, especially at the beginning? Tsk, tsk, these directors need to learn their lesson next time. I sighed and maybe I'll just visit Quake for a moment— oh hey, Cyclone is approaching me.

"Hey, can you get the kit and aid Quake for me please? I'm having a battle with…'Thunderstorm' here." He whispered.

"Wait, is Quake—"

"Hurt? Yeah, he is. Now hurry up before he bleeds to death!"

"Wha— a-alright then." I said and went to the kitchen to get the kit. Heh, good thing that the kit is just behind the door. I quickly grabbed it and ran upstairs.

"Quake!" I said and entered his bedroom. Huh…it's so quiet here—

"Blaze…thank goodness you're here..!" Quake said, touching his neck…which has blood. Oh shit, his neck is bleeding!

"D-Don't worry, Quake, I'll fix that for you." I said and touched his neck. Then my hand glows…white..? What the heck? Is this a fire power? Oh shit— wait, it's not that hot…What? Okay, I need answers to this scary-looking shit right here.

"Blaze…you can heal?" Quake said; his eyes widened in surprise and amazement.

"Wait, I can heal?" I questioned myself.

"I didn't know that fire can heal a person." He said.

"I didn't know anything about that too!" I said and raised both of my hand. Then the light of my hand slowly fades.

Quake touched his neck and smiled. "You…healed me!" he said happily.

"I…I did?" I asked.

"Wait, no, we have to save Cyclone! The fake Thunderstorm is going to kill him!" Quake said and grabbed my hand, and dragging me.

 _Fake? There's a fake Thunderstorm living in our house? Then where's the real on—_

As we arrived at the scene where Thunderstorm crushed Cyclone with his…'force field', my eyes widened in horror. _So it is a faker…then again, where's the real one?!_ Tsk, I got to save him, now!

"Not a chance!" I said as I threw a fireball that has the size of a soccer ball to 'Thunderstorm'.

"Blaze, distract him, I'll go get Cyclone!" Quake said, running off towards Cyclone –who's lying on the ground…unconscious.

 _ **Ugh, he's so…idiotic! He'll be in danger if he's near to that illusion figure that you guys called it as 'Thunderstorm'.**_

 _Wait…'illusion figure'? Did you knew all of these and you didn't even tell me in the first place?!_

 _ **Uhm…oh look, he's going to attack Quake!**_

I quickly look at him. Oh shit.

"Oh no you don't!" I ran towards him. "Blazing Chakrams!" the weapon I equipped appeared on both of my hand. It was blazing fiercely, no, the flames are too fierce. I smirked at threw both of them at Thunderstorm.

 _ **Curious? I am helping you right now, you know.**_

 _You…did this?_

I thought and catched my chakrams. Heh, good thing that this works as a boomerang.

 _ **Why, of course! I am you, after all but better~**_

 _Oh shut it I know that originals are better! And if you are me, then how come you knew that Thunderstorm's not my brother?_

… _ **I'll explain later. For now, you must focus on battle, you got that?**_

 _Fine…_

" **Talking to yourself, huh, Blaze?** " Thunderstorm said, aiming at paralyzed Quake and unconscious Cyclone. " **Seems like you haven't seen the best part of this battle, wanna see it? I can do it all over again~"** he said and smiled like a maniac.

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. _This guy gives me the nerves…I want to bitch-slap him sooo bad—_

" _ **Enough.**_ " That's the word that came out of my mouth.

… _whoa. Wait, I didn't say that…then…who—_

 _ **Pay attention, Blaze.**_

 _E-Eh…sheesh, alright._

The imposter looked at me for a second. I can feel my appearance is changing. Instead of having a red-like flames, it becomes white with a black-magenta strikes. My eyes are flashing red and black flames. My clothes are still the same though…maybe my _inner me_ did it?

" **I see. I'm glad to see you again, comrade."** Thunderstorm said, crossing his arms and smiled widely.

 _Comrade?!_

My _inner me_ chuckled. " _ **I don't think so. I am part of Blaze, after all, so I think it would be better if I have my own ways."**_

" **Tsk.** " _Thunderstorm_ slashed his blade at me. " **You useless piece of trash! Infinite should've not made you in the first place!** " Oh shit, oh shit! Dodge it, damn it! Why can't my body move?!

 _I_ grabbed the blade…and it didn't hurt. It's like holding a stick…

" _ **Excuse me? I think you're talking to a mirror right now."**_ _I_ smirked, burning his blade into ashes.

 _Oooohhhh burn you piece of shit!_

 _ **Language, Blaze.**_ It chuckled. _**Although these sayings of mine came from your personality.**_

 _So that means I can sass or burn?_

 _ **That's…eh…correct.**_

 _Wow. I did not notice that._

 _ **Hmm…call me 'Vengeance' than 'inner me' next time, got that?**_

 _Vengeance…hmm…I like that._

" _ **Glad to know that, partner!"**_ Vengeance said, equipping the chakrams…except that it's bigger than mine.

" **I see now,"** _Thunderstorm_ chuckled. **"Blaze managed to talk to you and now you're teaming up with him? Ha! Did you even know that humans are weak and pathetic?!"** he said and slashing his blade towards me. Luckily Vengeance parried it using the chakrams. His face is getting closer to mine.

Vengeance growled. _**"But these kids aren't!"**_ he said and smacked his head to the imposter, making him falling off balance. _Ouch…_

 _ **You enjoying this, Blaze?**_

 _Hell yeah!_

" _ **That's the spirit!"**_ Vengeance said, bursting high flames at the imposter.

The flames around me glowed brighter.

 _Holy shit, did I do that?_

 _ **Well, yeah. The more you're getting pumped up for this battle, the more your power level increase. But this white-flame aura is mine, so—**_

 _I can't…use it without you?_

… _ **No, you can, but it'll take more stamina than your usual attacks. That means you'll use this ability rarely.**_

 _Okay, I got that._

" _ **Good."**_ Vengeance said, picking the imposter's collar and burns him with my flames. The imposter didn't say anything, or even shouted in pain, he just looked at me straight in the eyes, like he's looking through my soul. He smiled faintly.

" **Save your brothers, Blaze…"** Those are the last words came from the imposter. His eyes are slowly closed and faded slowly with red glitches around him. Then, he disappears into thin air.

Vengeance took a deep breath then approaches Quake and Cyclone.

 _..A-Are they fine, Vengeance?_

 _ **Yeah.**_

Vengeance kneeled beside than and touched Quake's vital point.

 _ **He'll be awake in 3, 2, 1—**_

As Vengeance predicted, Quake was wide awake and gasping for air. He was peering around for a second and noticed that Cyclone was beside him, unconscious.

"What the— where's that imposter?!" Quake exclaimed.

Vengeance patted his shoulder, making Quake to look at him…or me.

"W-Woah, Blaze…I-I didn't know you have that kind of power…" Quake looked at me amazingly.

" _ **Don't worry, he's gone now."**_ Vengeance said, smiling at him.

"A-And your voice changed too…" Quake said, added a little bit of fear in his voice.

 _Huh, so my voice is deeper now? Cool._

" _ **Call me Vengeance. Right now I'm 'possessing' your brother, but don't worry, I'm no ghost or an enemy, I'm just here to help."**_ Vengeance said with a soft voice.

"R-Right…" Quake stuttered. If Thunderstorm's here, I swear he'll start calling the Priest or attacks me cause, eh, he's afraid of scary things. Wait…

 _Where's the real Thunderstorm anyway?_

 _ **C-Can I…explain i-it to y-you…l-later…p-please?**_

 _W-What's wrong, Vengeance?_

Vengeance chuckled lowly. _**"It seems like I'm running out of energy. I shall explain to you all later. Oh, one last thing; destroy the gem, Quake."**_ He said and closed his eyes, laying down panting.

 _Ah shit, it seems like I can feel my energy draining out too. And it seems like that I'm back in controlling my body again. Heh._

 _Hmm…_

 _It seems like my body's sleeping…_

 _Oh well, at least we've got a small information about the enemy now…I think._

* * *

Wait, one of Blaze's personality trait is vengeful, right? Eh, vengeance and vengeful are the same XD


	9. New World

AHM STILL ALIVE AND KICKIN' MAH BROS...DUDES...DUDETTES..? Eh..? Anyways, I can still continue this story as long as I'm not busy in school or I can finish my homework quickly.

* * *

I groaned and tried my strength to stand up, but I let out a sigh...I can't really move...well, at least the faker is gone as _Vengeance_ said. Heh, I didn't even know Blaze can split his personality, I think. I looked at the sky and slowly drifting myself to rest...the sky's vibrating magenta and different shades of blue and violet with white dots.

 _So...the gem's bringing us bad luck..?_

"Quake! Blaze!" I looked at the person who called my name. It's was Thorn and Ying, running towards us.

I smiled faintly. "It's a good thing that you notice us, Thorn." I croaked. Man, I must've beaten hard when I was paralyzed. Ugh…my head hurts… **a lot.**

"Hey! Can you move, Quake?" Ying asked and shake my shoulders lightly. She was the first one who approaches me since she can run faster than him.

"I'll carry Cyclone. Quake, we'll explain this later." Thorn said with a worrisome expression. _Weird, this is the first time I seen him look so…serious…so out of character._

"H-How about Blaze..?" I tried my hardest to speak, but it only comes out as a croak.

"I'll carry Blaze, wait here!" Ying said and dashed back to the house. She dashed back here and carried Blaze. _Did she even know that he's a bit heavy? Eh, that's a girl power alright._

"Geez, what happened to you guys? Why didn't you tell us that you guys are having a battle…"Ying looked at the surroundings carefully. "Even though there's no one here..?" Ying paused and gulped. She looked at me with a straight glare. "A-Are you guys…fighting with each other..?"

Thorn sighed and tapped Ying's shoulder. "Let them rest. They'll explain what happened later." Thorn said and walked off the scene, carrying Cyclone.

Ying kneeled down and carried me with the shoulders. I looked at Thorn walking. _He seems to act like Solar for some reason._ "You know…Thorn's acting—"

"Serious? Yeah, I noticed it too." Ying said, looking at Thorn walking. We started to walk as well.

"I really need those answers, but as Thorn said. You guys need some rest." Ying said and let out a sigh. "I'm sorry that we couldn't hear you guys fighting, the sound of the movie is too loud. So I got up and walked outside to refresh my mind 'cause my ears are ringing like crazy!"

"N-No, it's alright…" Those are my last words before I collapsed.

 **{.}**

I groaned and opened my eyes.

… _What the hell..?_

Hah, as my thoughts are right, I **am** in Hell. Cities are burning, from the looks of it; no people are running around or screaming in panic anymore. It's like…the whole city's conquered by the fires already…Why am I even here in the first place?! Wait, how long have I been sleeping?! Where are the others?! Why am I in a forest sitting?!

"Hurricane Blast!" A voice cried, blowing the fires out in the west side of the city.

The voice seems familiar somehow. I stood up and ran to the west side. _Huh, seems like I'm feeling energetic._

 **{.}**

Mother Gaia…the view here is even worse than the far view…everything is gone…ashes are following the silent wind's breeze.

 _ **What the hell happened..?**_

I saw a figure running towards me. Damn it, I'm so scared right now my legs aren't moving. _What the heck am I even thinking? Language, Quake!_

The figure ran closer and closer, until I get a better picture. It was a young boy who's the same height as me, flames are eating his flesh and his clothes are torn apart and burned.

"S-Stay away!" I stuttered in fear and covered my eyes. _Come on legs, move!_

"…uake! Quake!"

I blinked and tried to get a better look by drawing him closer, walking slowly.

"Quake, why are you attacking me?! It's me, Cyclone!" Cyclone shouted and avoided the Earth Golems' attacks. _Wait…Earth Golems?! They're attacking Cyclone?!_

"Hey! Stop it!" I shouted. The Golems heard my command and fell into tiny pieces of rocks. _What am I even thinking when those are present? I…didn't even summon them in the first place._

"Sorry for scaring you, Quake..." Cyclone said and sat on the cold ground. His burned skin was slowly recovering when a small and cold wind circling his burns. He was exhausted from putting out the fire.

"N-No you didn't. It's just this scene…what happened?" I asked and sat beside him.

"It's Infinite. He altered our reality, making our perspective different. This might be a dream to you but it's not. All this time, Quake, we're living in a lie starting when we found the gem." Cyclone explained.

"Wh-Who's Infinte?"

Cyclone raised his head up into the sky. "He's…also known as Solar, Quake."

I widened my eyes. _The 'Solar' part is common for me but why is he doing this?_

"Cyclone, are you sure that the person who's doing this is Solar?" I asked and looked at him.

"Face it, Quake, not all of us are closing their books with a happy ending." Cyclone muttered as his eyes are showing his dull expression.

I looked at him for a moment. "What…happened to you? Where're all your positive feelings gone to?" I asked softly.

Cyclone looked at me and forced a faint smile. "I changed." He looked down and stared at the ground. It was nothing but ashes and dirt. "Ever since Infinite told me what happened, I…started to lose my trust with someone, or anyone. I even cried last night, hoping that Thunderstorm will recover his blinded eyes but who am I kidding, he was a fake all along." His visible tears started to drop on the ground. The more he's melancholy, the more emotionless his face gets. "Then what am I crying for? Am I even faking it? Heck, I don't even know what's real or fake anymore. I don't know if I'm talking to my brother or this person sitting beside me is a fake."

"Cyclone, I'm…I'm real. And if it was a fake, it shouldn't be listening to you right now." I said, trying to lift the atmosphere. "Remember the time where you are so stressed at school or at the training room?"

"Y-Yeah…?" Cyclone looked at me.

"You were mumbling all of your problems sometimes and I was there, listening to you. You were usually in this attitude when Thunderstorm's not present, am I correct?"

Cyclone nodded. "I miss him, Quake."

I frowned and looked at the sky. "I miss him too, Cyclone. But we can't stop here, we have to find him! No, we have to find everyone!" I stood up and faced at Cyclone with a determined expression.

Cyclone muttered something before even looking at me. The word I can only make out is limit. What's he up to this time..?

Cyclone stood up and looked at me with a serious and dull expression. "Come on, this way." He said and ran. Oh shoot, I have to follow him before I get lost!

 **{.}**

It's been 15 minutes and we're still running. Okay, I really want to ask him but I can't because…he'll be sad, again. Thunderstorm's gone, Solar's…changing…no, I don't think he's changing, I know that someone impersonating him. There's no way that Solar's the enemy! Maybe…just maybe…someone's playing some eye tricks on us.

"There." I snapped back at the reality and looked at Cyclone who's pointing his finger at the small, eh, shelter? I'm not sure about it but maybe my friends are in there? Huh, only one way to find out then. "Cyclone, are you coming with…me?" I whispered the last word I spoke. Cyclone wasn't there anymore.

"Cyclone? Cyclone!" I called his name over and over. But there's no one else but the wind—

"Q-Quake..?" A voice called.

I turned around to see who called my name, but look who found me. "Ochobot!" I cried and hugged him. "Oh thank goodness you're alright! Wait, where's granddad?"

Ochobot quickly grabbed my arm and went inside of that…small shelter. I…guess I was wrong then, this isn't shelter, this is a base! A base…for what? Ugh, dumbhead, you're dealing with an apocalypse here!

"We're here! Eh, is something wrong, Quake?" Ochobot asked.

I startled and shook my head. "No, no, everything's okay…I think." I said and peered at the surroundings. Let's see, if this is some kind of base, there would be shelves of food, a bedroom fitted for those who are staying here, some first aid kit, flashlight and a radio. Huh, seems like they prepared all of them. But what's with the big screen though? By the looks of it, it's still working. Maybe they form a resistance..?

"Ochobot you're back— eh? Is that you Quake?" Another robotic voice called. I looked behind me and it was— "Probe?!" I startled.

"Good to see that you're back for the past 6 months, hero!" Probe said and threw a small confetti. _Wait, 6 months?! Am I in a coma or something?!_

"Wait, 6 months? H-How..?" I asked to myself.

"You've…been MIA for 6 months, Quake. All of your brothers are, including your gang." Ochobot said. _They must be worried about us, especially my Granddad._

"I…I didn't know about that. Sorry." I whimpered.

The base had gone quiet. "Wh-where's granddad?" I asked.

"He's resting. Don't worry, he's in a fine condition. Adudu and Probe are taking care of him, including me of course." Ochobot explained.

 _So Adudu's not behind all of this chaos? Well, this is a bit, challenging for me._

"Where is he now?" I asked. _Sheesh Quake you're asking too many questions. Oh wait, you've been missing in this world for_ _ **months.**_

"He's gathering more supplies. Hopefully he's fine all alone by himself though…" Probe said with a worrisome voice.

I smiled, trying to cheer him up. "Don't worry Probe, he's a hardworking alien, I'm sure that he'll survive!"

"Hmm…yeah, I hope he does. Thank you for cheering me up, Quake!"

"No problem, Probe." I said and walked towards the bedroom. I saw Granddad sleeping peacefully. _Thank Gaia he's fine!_ I cried silently and slept beside him. "I'm sorry that I'm too late to save this world, Granddad!" I sobbed silently and hugged him. "Please, please let me fix this problem, I'll do anything to protect you, to protect them even if by means sacrificing my life!"

" _Please…"_

" _Forgive me…"_

I gasped out and opened my eyes wide. I…I'm not in the base anymore. I saw a while ceiling fan whirling…

"Quake! Good to see that you're awake!" Yaya exclaimed out of happiness and relief.

"We've been worried that you might be in, um, unconscious, forever." Ying said, sitting beside Yaya.

I sat on my bed and massaged my forehead. "H-How long have I been sleeping?" I asked.

"4 hours..?" Ying guessed.

"We've been playing Monopoly this whole time just to keep away from boredom." Fang said with a bored expression. "But this game is still bringing us from the bored world."

"A-are you all here?" I asked.

"Yeah." All of them replied. Thorn was in the door leaning, Ice and Blaze are in the second bed, Cyclone was sulking in the corner, Fang and Gopal are in the floor sitting and playing Monopoly, and Yaya and Ying are sitting on a chair.

"What's with the attendance, Teacher EQuake?" Gopal teased.

"The gem, where's the gem?" I said, ignoring Gopal's 'question'.

"Here." Cyclone tossed the gem to my bed and I picked it up.

"Ohh, it looks so shiny!" Yaya and Ying exclaimed in unison.

"What's the gem for, Quake?" Fang asked.

I cracked my knuckles and rocks formed together into a gauntlet. "Oh, let me take you to a fun and horrible ride, my dear students."

I when I was about to punch the gem, my burning thoughts were formed into one. The gauntlet burst out cracks of molten lava. _Wow, I didn't know that I can do that!_

I punched the gem and it broke into millions and I mean MILLIONS of pieces.

Then all I see is white…

Then red…

Flames.


	10. Author's note 2

Guys, I'm having difficulties on updating the newest chapter bcuz of school so maybe I'll update an upcoming chapter this month or maybe next month. **Please bear with me if you're still alive.** ;;w;;

POV for the 9th chapter: Fang


	11. Wake Up Call (Fang)

EEEEEEYYYYY- I'm back! Sorry for the long wait, I'm too busy doing school projects and all...sorry about that. ;-;

(And yeah I'm still not good at writing stories in English so yeah :/ ) Also, this story will have their second volume s since this story got sum long path ahead XD

* * *

As Quake smashed the gem with force, the world slowly melted into nothingness and painted with red skies and burning buildings and the broken pieces of the game slowly turned into ashes.

 _What the hell..?_

I slowly held both of my arms and covered my ears while I'm shaking with fear and confusion.

 _ **What the hell is going on here?!**_

 _ **I-I thought that we're inside his house?! Can someone explain me what's going on?!**_

 _ **I'm afraid…please, can anyone even hear me?!**_

"Fang!" My thoughts snapped back to reality. Quake was in front of me with a concerned look and held both of my shoulders, shaking me lightly. I didn't even know that I was breathing too fast, panicking inside my head while he… _**he's not confused about this..?**_

"You did this!"I yelled at him, causing him to startled and fell on the ground. "You look like you've seen this before, mind explaining me what's going on?!"

"F-Fang…" Quake coughed out the dirt and stood up. "Listen, this may sound vague to you guys but, ever since Solar found the gem, our perspective on this world is…different. We thought that we're living in a normal life these past 2 days but, we were wrong. We're living in a false world." He sighed under his breath, looking down on the ground like he's losing hope.

The rest of us were quiet, processing his explanation properly. There are a lot of questions inside my mind. Like, where did that gem come from? Why are we involved in this? I mean, we're superheroes but that doesn't mean that we're handling all the problems! Geez, give us a break…we're still kids here, you know.

"Where's Solar or the real Thunderstorm anyway?" Ying was the first one to speak, asking Quake.

There is no sound but the whistling of the wind and the swaying of leaves.

I looked at Quake with a glare. "Hey, moron, she's asking you." I grumbled.

"I—"

"We still don't know where they are." Blaze interrupted. "Whether they're either kidnapped or missing." He added, lowering his voice.

"And you didn't have the chance to find him?" Yaya asked, facing Blaze.

"You didn't care about your youngest brother, huh Quake?!" I gibed, looking at him.

"That's enough, Fang!" Blaze exclaimed. "He's looking for him, remember? I think it's better if I call you an asshole because you are one!" he added. But this time, he gripped his fists tighter while glared at me with those furious, ruby-like eyes.

"You two, that's enough!" Quake demanded, stomping his foot on the ground. "You Blaze, I told you to limit how you speak with your words because I'm now disgusted on hearing you swear!"

Blaze crossed his arms and muttered something under his breath.

"And you Fang," He looked at me and grabbed me by the collar. "Think twice before you spit your words because I don't want to hear it!" He released me and looked down, covering his face as he was sobbing in despair. "I just don't want any misinterpretations. I tried looking for him, but ended up in this…wasteland."

"Quake, this **is** our hometown." Cyclone rectified. "It's been 6 months yet it feels like days we're missing here. Strange, isn't it?"

The rest of us are deadpanned of what we heard. _This is our place today?! A-And we've been 'out' for—_

"6 months?!" we all yelled in unison, except for Quake and Cyclone.

"H-How did you know?!" Gopal asked.

"I…" He paused for a while, shifting glances on the surrounding. Then he took a deep breath and looked at us. "No, let's explain this inside the base." Cyclone turned around and walked, leading us where this…'Base' is. The rest of us followed him though. We were quiet. So quiet. We were confused, afraid, or any other emotions mixing inside us. Well, as they say, 'silent speaks a thousand words'.

Quake ran and walked behind Cyclone, asking. "Hey, what did you say when we were talking before? And why did you suddenly disappear without a trace?"

"We were unconscious at that time, Quake. We suddenly 'teleported' here, leaving us with confusion…until I saw him. He's somehow explaining me while taunting me that we couldn't save the world and how weak we are." He replied.

"But you muttered something…like 'limit'?" Quake asked again.

"That was the time where I know that I'll be awake in the fake world. Sorry for leaving you there though, I tried my best to stay asleep but my body does not want to." He answered.

"I-It's alright. I thought you were completely gone or I was just talking to a fake or something." Quake said, sighing in relief.

Cyclone said nothing but to look at him with a worried look. "Don't…. mention that topic, please."

"R-Right, sorry about that, brother." Quake apologized in a soft tone.

{.}

As we arrived in the city of flames, my body starts to shake in fear. My brain is starting to panic as I thought of the people who're burned along with this city. I never thought that I'll be this scared. I mean, we fought different living species across the universe yet I'm still afraid of this. What the hell is wrong with me?

"We're here." Cyclone alerted us with a calm tone. Huh? We're here already? Huh, I looked around and all I can see is some junks, metal junks. And that rusted metal smell…ugh. I better cover my nose for that one.

Cyclone knocked on a metallic door three times. "Ochobot? We're here." He shouted, trying to call him from here.

Ochobot? _So they're still alive? That's a relief!_ I thought. _Hey, this isn't bad after all. Okay Fang, just stay calm and you'll be fine. Don't panic, okay? This place might be our only hope._

A figure in black opened the door slowly, thinking that this welcoming atmosphere came from the unknown bandits.

"G-Guys…?"

"Is everyone here though?" Ochobot asked, his holographic eyes frowning.

I looked around to see if all of us are present, same as them. _Pssh, Fang, all of us are scared and confused here, there's no way one of us is gonna—_

"Thorn isn't here!" Blaze yelled worriedly. All of us got startled about it. _That damn idiot…_

"W-We've got to split up, now!" Yaya commanded. _She's scared, I can feel it._ I thought worriedly as my sweat is sliding from my forehead to my cheeks, and dripped to the ground. _I hate to admit it but, I am also scared of what will happen to him. Tsk._

"No! If we'll split up, the more we get lost!" Quake exclaimed.

"But, what about your brother?! He'll be alone in there, or worse, he could be killed!" Ying quavered.

 _Ugh, this is going to take forever…_

I raised my hand, as if I'm volunteering myself, which I am right now. "I'll go and find him." I said with a sense of determination.

Everyone looked at me with those remaining worried faces.

"Are you crazy?!" Ying yelled.

That's suicide, Fang! You can't just go and find him alone in this…place!" Yaya fretted.

"Look, here's a deal; if I can't get back here by…" I looked at the time in my watch; it was 6 in the evening, sharp. "6:30 in the evening, you can go ahead and look for me and or Thorn. Is that clear?" I said, keeping my tone clear and natural, not to know that I'm scared.

"Fool." Blaze glared at me, arm crossed. "You'll get in trouble once you leave here."

"I'm not trying to get lost since this is our place. That means I know the pathways here."

"No." Cyclone faced me, putting his finger below his chin. "We've been out for 6 months…surely the pathways now are…different than what it looks like before."

I observed each of the elemental brothers, having a brainstorm, same as my team mates but, they're still leaving a confused trail behind. This atmosphere however, why do I feel that it's going to be tense and violent..?

I startled and quickly looked behind me and it was Quake, tapping my shoulder lightly, saying. "Hey."

 _Shit, I almost summon my shadow claws to kill you…_

"I'm coming with you." He said.

"W-What?" I asked confusingly.

"No more hesitations, I'm coming with you, that's my final decision." He said one last time, facing me with his brave eyes. _Heh, no hesitations, huh? Alright then, 'leader'._

"Alright." I sighed and looked at my team mates. "Best of luck for us, I guess."

"Be careful out there though." Ying said.

"With both of your strengths, I know that both of you will be unstoppable." Ochobot said, clenching his robotic fist.

I smiled and waved at them. "Don't worry, we will stop of who is behind all this!" I turned around and ran. "Come on, Quake!"

"H-Hey!" I heard Quake's voice and footsteps nearer until he was running behind me. "You know, we could've parted ways if it weren't for your cocky attitude!" He said and huffed.

"Well, the truth is..."

 _I'm scared of what will happen to us. The enemy had more strength compared to us. If we get killed, what will happen to them? And no, I'm not cocky, I'm trying to hide my cowardice self in front of the enemy. I just hope that we'll find Thorn fast without approaching the enemy…for now._

"I want to know what the enemy looks like so that we could track him!" I lied. _Damn it, I can't tell him!_

"I see." Quake said, having a worried expression. He stopped for a moment and looked at the sky. "It's gonna be dark soon."

"Y-Yeah…" I said and looked up. _I hope we'll be okay with this. I can see the darkness through my night vision mode glasses but Quake? I don't know about him. Maybe asking him, ya idiot?_

"Uh, Quake?"

"Yes?" He said and turned his head to face me.

"Can you, uh, move swiftly through the dark?"

"Hmm…" He looked down and crouched. He touched the ground with his hands and closed his eyes. "Maybe I can feel some motions…a little bit of course."

"Quake, you can't touch your hands on the ground forever. What if the enemy can fly?" I said as I crossed my arms. _Yeah, what if the enemy can levitate? Damn it, now's not the time to panic, stupid!_

"Huh, you're right but, why are you worried about it? I can fight, you know." Quake opened his eyes and stood up, looking at me.

"Quake, you can't fight in the dark."

Quake sighed in defeat. "I hate to admit but, you're right." He leaned on the nearest tree and stares at the leaves. "Thorn can't be that far from us since he's afraid of dark." He assured.

"I see…well then, let's find him before the enemy will, pronto." I said and walked in…who knows where I'm heading to.

Quake followed me behind silently, not wanting to trigger the enemy by our noise. I shifted my eyes on the sky, and on the ground. _I had to stay alert, that's my top priority right now until we found Thorn._ I took a glance on Quake, he seems to be closing his eyes, focusing the movements from the ground. He seems serious…too serious. _Well, we are talking about his youngest brother, idiot!_ I looked at the sky for a moment and looked back on where I head. _Thorn…I hope you aren't that far from us…_

I stopped walking as we've reach a dead end or a cliff, rather. Damn…I can see the whole city sinking from the fire here… _Shit, now I'm shaking with fear again…who and what is this guy?! I-Is he_ _ **that**_ _powerful?!_

"Quake, we need to—" I looked at him and he seems to be pointing a metallic spear at me. "Q-Quake, put that weapon down..." I stammered and slowly raised my hands up. _What the hell is he thinking?! I'm not a fake, Quake!_

"Behind you, Fang." Quake said quietly, his eyes are burning with anger like he's ready to battle without caring if he dies or not.

I looked behind me, and I was shocked as Quake is.

The enemy approaches towards us, dragging an unconscious Thorn, with bruises all over him.

" **Well, well, what do we have here? Saving your brother, huh?"** The enemy said and chuckled sinisterly. **"Sorry, but he's dead!"**


	12. To Make Someone Smile

Hey everyone! Guess who's back from Hell! Gahd I'm so tired rn- Sorry that I didn't update this chapter last month though, school projects are killin' me :')

And tbh, I almost forgot that I had a story published here :'D (I got hooked up to BnHA again, sorry XD)

And a HUGE reminder; I didn't proofread this since I'm busy, even in holidays. So sorry ^^'''

Anyways, enjoy reading this chapter (I guess ^^')

.

Point of View: Earthquake

* * *

"Stand back, Fang! _He's_ _ **mine**_ **.** " I snarled, glaring at whoever disguises as my brother.

…Solar.

—No wait, Thunderstorm..?

He seems to resemble as them…combined…

I widened my eyes in realization.

 _There's no way they can be_ _ **fused**_ _together…it can't be…_

" **Surprised, brother?"** he said, giving me a dirty look towards me.

 _Tsk, you made me pissed off than before,_ _ **bastard..!**_

I quickly made my move as I punched the ground with my fist, making the rocks underneath the dirt ascend and gripped both of his legs firmly. I slowly walked up towards him, still glaring with my furious eyes.

He laughed and threw the injured and unconscious Thorn towards me without thinking that he threw a person whose _ **life is at the verge of death**_ at me. My senses quickly reacted and caught him. I looked closely, and he was **barely** breathing.

 _Leaf…hang in there..!_

I walked towards Fang and let him carry Thorn. I looked at him straight in the eyes, making him startled like he'd seen a ghost, or thinking that I was going to attack him. "Please, run back to the base and let him rest there." I said, trying to sound nonchalant. My eyes are slowly looking at Thorn as I felt guiltiness at myself at the same time. I was unable to save him, no, I wasn't able to see a light to know that there will be chances of saving him. I'm useless. _**So useless…**_

I jolted as soon as I saw Fang leaning towards my ear and whispered; "Let's escape while we can, idiot..!" he said, his tone is somewhat trembling in fear.

 _Escape..?_

Does that means we're going to forfeit..? Why..? **Why?! Are you saying that I'm not strong enough to kill him?! He almost killed my youngest brother! He threw him like a broken object! HOW COULD I FORGIVE THAT MONSTER-!**

 _..!_

I snapped back to the reality as something…cold was holding my hand. I thought it was a ghost or my imagination but when I slowly looked at my arm, it was a hand, a real hand gripping weakly to mine. I looked up and it was Thorn; who's half-conscious.

"Brother…stop that…" Thorn said weakly, his eyes gazed upon me. Wait; did he hear me muttering..? Did I mutter?

" **He's right, you should stop muttering,"** I flinched, realizing that the voice was the same as Thorn, but from someone else. That someone else is… **"and focus on your enemy."** _Infinite._

I quickly turned around to see if he's still trapped but, just as I suspected, he wasn't there anymore. I faced back to them and there he is, 'warping' behind them. A small 'tsk' came out in my mouth bitterly before I punched the ground to make a wall between him and us —and I mean Infinite and Thorn, Fang blacking out, and me.

I huffed, exhausted of how scared I am in front of him. Scared of his powers? Maybe. Scared on hurting him? Yes and no. I was tired, tired on these worst-case scenarios. I was tired of seeing my friends suffering. But now's not the time to attack him, not yet. I looked at Fang and slapped his cheek hard. "Idiot, let's leave, now!" I sound so tired, damn it, I'm using too much of my strength…no, we just got here, right? If so, what's keeping me from extending my powers..? No, I should worry that later, our lives are on the line, not to mention that 'death' is also here, wanting bloodshed.

Fang snapped back to the reality and quickly nodded, making no other responses as he knew what's going on. He's scared. Damn it, I failed…as the eldest of my brothers...

"Come on, this way." He held my arm and ran away from the battlefield. But, there's something in his voice that makes me surprised, his voice when saying that was a cold whisper. That time, he wasn't even looking at me. Was he…avoiding the fact that he's so scared; I or my brothers might tease him? Fang, that's not important right now!

We kept on running until we didn't see or even catch a glimpse on that cliff. Wow…it feels like hours since we forfeit. No, it feels like hours because we're running in the dark! Only Fang can see since he had that night-vision glasses. Well, at least he's useful at this point, considering that he froze when he saw **him.** No, it's probably my fault when he thought that I was going to **kill** him due to my murderous aura when I saw Infinite. I know he's not the one doing this, or somebody is pulling the strings on my brothers…but how can the two of them… _ **fused together?**_ Or maybe it was my imagination…

…Who knows?

I noticed that Fang stopped running so I did the same to him. As the silence surrounds us, I can hear Fang's breathing abnormality. He bent down and laid Thorn on the soft ground. Is he planning something? As I patted on his shoulder, I realized this sudden cold temperature on him.

"Hey," I bent down to face him, not that I can clearly see his face with this darkness. "You alright, Fang?" I asked with concern.

"It's…f-freezing…" I felt like my heart stopped beating as I heard Fang's whimper "C-Can't…breathe…" He rubbed both of his arms to help his body to warm up. The strange thing is…I didn't feel cold, or Thorn. _Damn it…if only Blaze was here…_

My mind sighed; _I guess there's only one way to do this._

I felt Fang's body jolted out when I… _hug_ him. For Pete's sake, this is embarrassing! But, they say that hugs can warm someone's heart…right? Wait…WAIT A SECOND—

"E-Earthquake..?!" Fang yelped in surprise. Of course, he didn't know or expect for this to happen, but neither the both of us didn't expect this sudden change of atmosphere. This hug felt too warm, it makes me feel relieved with all those problems—

"T-This is…too 'unmanly' and embarrassing!" He yelped once again. Geez, I can imagine that he's flushing red again. I have no choice but to let go of this… comfortable hug. The first reaction that came out to my face is to laugh Fang's steaming face. "H-Hey! I-It's not funny, you know!"

"I know, I know." I wiped off my tear and smiled. "I just want to lift up the atmosphere a little since you were shaking there." To be honest, I never thought that I could change the mood for a second, but oh well, my mouth spilled all the words from my mind.

Fang looked away, still blushing from embarrassment. "Y-You should check on Thorn. A-And I think I feel better now." I swear I heard him mumbling that last sentence, but it's better to leave that be. I don't want to anger him at the time like this.

What a coincidence, I was about to carry him before he said that. "You don't have to tell me twice." I said and carried Thorn in a piggyback style. _He's fine, he's just tired…damn it, I'm sorry Thorn…_

"Come on, we're almost near to our base." He stood up and walked, so I followed him. He turned his face to see me. "And thanks, for comforting me like that. I-I know this sounds…weird but…i-is that h-how you warm someone's heart? I-Isn't that a…l-lover's way to warm someone's…h-heart..?" He asked, his blush wasn't gone…yet.

I chuckled. "I was going to doubt about that one too but, I knew you needed help when you experience that…odd situation." I looked at the night sky. "You felt something…strange about him, right? That bloodlust aura was spreading all over his body. He wants us dead…a-and…he's…" I stopped as the realization hit me. "Solar and Thunderstorm…that isn't…possible, r-right..?"

I heard Fang sighed. "My mind went blank, Quake. It couldn't process of what I think of at that moment because death was surrounding us. Or at least, that's what I thought." He pauses for a moment, letting his mixing thoughts lining up. "And about that topic you mention, I think that's just an illusion. Who knows what could happen to them." He said in a straight tone, there's no emotion when he said that.

I kept myself quiet. This whole situation seems stressful than we all thought. Now that reminds me…in only Solar haven't picked up the gem in the first place, what could happen to us? Will we live in a normal life just like others? Can we be at peace if only that gem doesn't exist right in front of our house? Can we be free for once in our lifetime for Pete's sa—

"Don't think that they cannot save by themselves, Quake. Both of them have the will to escape the darkness that consumed them. Heck, even one of them is 'light' himself." He chuckled his own comment, which makes me smile.

"Alright, where are you getting at, Fang?"

"All I'm saying is that don't 'overstress' yourself, Quake. You know that you're not the only one who's worried about this news, right? We might not know how powerful the enemy is, and the enemy doesn't know most of our powers…yet." _Unless the one who kidnapped Solar and Thunderstorm might dug its hand to reach their memories…_ "But still, we need to get stronger. Let's go beyond…PLUS ULTRA!"

"You're way too enthusiastic right now." I commented and chuckled. "And yeah, I strongly agree with you." I added with a smile on my face. Forgetting what happened when I fought

"Right!" Fang suddenly ran, which makes me run to catch up with him too. I'm not really a fast runner, but I do have some good strength to lift some heavy objects though. Carrying Thorn at the back was…seemingly easy for me. I mean, I am the only one who do almost all of the household chores there is, maybe that's how I got my strengths…enhanced..? Huh, that's…a good way of training my arms for that…now for the legs…

"Hey! Earth to Quake, we're here!"

Fang shouted and waved his arm as a signal to stop myself from running. I slowed down until I stood behind Fang. The flames beyond our hideout were still there though. "I'm still here, Fang. I just…" I stopped for a brief moment. _I don't want to lessen the mood again…_ "T-Thanks, for making me smile back there." I beamed a smile and patted his shoulder before going inside.

Fang sighed and smiled back. "No problem, I guess."

* * *

Hmmm...I've been meaning to ask, what is a 'fluff'? Not the, uh, 'fluffy pups or kittens' but another type of 'fluff' used in fanfics :')

And also, Merry Christmas readers!


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